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Released every Tuesday, the LOUNGE LIZARDS podcast helps listeners navigate the experience of finding and enjoying premium cigars (both Cuban and non-Cuban) and quality spirits. Episodes are normally around 90 minutes long and feature a variety of different topics including food, travel, life, sports and work.
The podcast features eight members: Rooster, Poobah, Gizmo, Senator, Pagoda, Chef Ricky, Grinder and Bam Bam.
This is not your typical cigar podcast. We’re a group of friends who love sharing cigars, whiskey and a good laugh.
Join us and become a card-carrying lounge lizard yourself! Email us at hello@loungelizardspod.com to join the conversation and be featured on an upcoming episode!
Welcome to the Lounge Lizards podcast presented by FabricA five. It's so good to have you here. It's a leisure and lifestyle podcast founded on our love of premium cigars as well as whiskey travel food work and whatever else we feel like getting into. My name is Gizmo. Tonight, I'm joined by Rooster, Senator, Pagoda, chef Ricky, and Bam Bam.
Gizmo:And our plan is to smoke a cigar, drink some rum, talk about life, and, of course, have some laughs. So take this as your two hundred and forty ninth official invitation to join us and become a card carrying lounge lizard. Plan to meet us here once a week. We're gonna smoke a Dominican cigar tonight, share our thoughts on it, and give you our formal lizard rating. We go through the long history of Fuente's Anejo line.
Gizmo:We detail The UK's proposed plain packaging law for cigars, and we share some big Bond Roberts Auctions news all among a variety of other things for the next two hours. So sit back, get your favorite drink, light up a cigar, and enjoy as we pair 12 years age El Dorado rum with the Arturo Fuente Anejo Reserva Extra Viejo Limited number 77 shark. A Dominican shark on the podcast tonight, boys, from Arturo Fuente. With an interesting aroma. It's the Anejo Reserva number 77 shark, And it's a 48 ring gauge down to 64 ring gauge cigar by five and seven eighths inches long.
Gizmo:And, boys, this is the same exact Fotola as another cigar that we love very much, but there's some hesitation in the room tonight because senator got a whiff.
Senator:Mhmm. Yeah. Smells like it was made in a toilet. The wrapper is easily the most repulsive smelling wrapper I have ever experienced in my good.
Bam Bam:It's like a brown suppository. And
Senator:chef's got a good palate. He he immediately said, smells like a toilet.
Rooster:Very unique.
Pagoda:Yeah. I think there's a power of suggestion. Alright? This is gonna be good. Keep a few things to ourselves.
Bam Bam:I think it'll be great.
Gizmo:Well, let's cut this thing, boys. See what we're getting on the cold draw. We already know what we're getting on the wrapper. Mhmm. Tight.
Gizmo:I am looking forward
Bam Bam:to this tonight. My draw is a little tight.
Gizmo:Mine is as well. Gonna cut it again. That's packed to the gills up there.
Bam Bam:Wow. It's actually rock hard.
Chef Ricky:It's very strong.
Gizmo:Rock hard at the top. Yeah.
Bam Bam:That's better.
Gizmo:I'm in better shape. Cold draw is actually really nice.
Bam Bam:It is very nice.
Gizmo:And the smell at the foot, senator, does not smell anything like the rapper does.
Bam Bam:Coulter, I'm getting a little cocoa.
Rooster:Smell on the foot is worse.
Gizmo:It seems I don't think it is.
Pagoda:I don't think you'll see that.
Gizmo:Is it like a real good tobacco down there.
Bam Bam:It's like an unwashed foot.
Senator:Seems whoever made this, I was eating some chocolate beforehand.
Bam Bam:I like the cold draw.
Rooster:I had his hands dipped in an open septic tank.
Gizmo:Almost disgusting. Alright. Well, cold draw is good. Let's focus on that.
Bam Bam:Very nice.
Gizmo:Cold draw is good.
Bam Bam:What are you getting, chef?
Pagoda:I don't know. I get tea, man.
Gizmo:Yeah. Should write on tea.
Chef Ricky:No. There's no black tea. Yeah.
Bam Bam:Milk chocolate for me. Not cocoa. Milk chocolate.
Chef Ricky:Think a little fruitiness.
Gizmo:No fig Newton. Bready, Bready fruit.
Chef Ricky:Definitely isn't what you're smelling that I'm happy about. Can I light it?
Gizmo:Yeah, well first you got to take off that footband, Bam.
Bam Bam:Oh yes, I did.
Gizmo:Secured by Scotch tape. That's an awful
Bam Bam:awful footband.
Gizmo:Slides off, though. Yeah. It's what off. Alright, boys. Let's light this thing.
Gizmo:Your Arturo Fuente on Yejo Reserva Extra Viejo Limited number 77 Shark from The Dominican Republic. Again, it's a 48 down to 64 ring gauge cigar by five and seven eighths inches long. Do we know what this cost? So the MSRP on this is $23, and we got it on sale for 16.
Bam Bam:Now we now we cooking.
Gizmo:So compared to what you're seeing a lot of other Fuente stuff, obviously, is a regular production cigar. But you're seeing some of that other Fuente stuff. That's why I wanted to bring this in tonight to try certainly the Anejo wine and also try another version of the Shark that we love so much in the Don Carlos wine.
Senator:Does anyone have more butane?
Pagoda:Yeah, know.
Gizmo:Know, right? This took a lot of juice.
Pagoda:Feels like a workout.
Bam Bam:It's kind of nice on the light actually. Very pleasant.
Gizmo:Very pleasant on the light. It's still taking
Pagoda:The a rice lot had made me very happy.
Gizmo:Yeah, $16 isn't bad. And I got to imagine this is a hard cigar to make. So you don't have too many people that are making this cigar. This has got to be the top of the top over there. I mean,
Rooster:it's the same guys who are making the Shark, I would imagine, that are rolling this. Around Christmas.
Senator:Mean septic tanks are rare to age the tobacco.
Bam Bam:I like it.
Gizmo:It's off to a nice start. Certainly not as bold as I expected on the light. We'll see if
Bam Bam:it gets there. The retro is a bit bold.
Senator:I mean it's full on the light.
Bam Bam:It's kind of smooth and creamy, but the retro?
Chef Ricky:There's a good amount of pepper there for me. On the retro? Not the traditional Dorado.
Bam Bam:I've got a dark sun spot on the foot of the cigar where there's heavy concentration of very dense tobacco. I hate that. Usually makes for an uneven burn. We shall see.
Gizmo:Mhmm. So boys, of course, this is a Dominican cigar. We're gonna get into the details in a little bit here, but the wrapper on this is Connecticut broadleaf. So that is the only component of this that is not coming off of the Fuente farms. Of course, this is the sister Invitola to the Opus X Shark, the Don Carlos Eye of the Shark that we love so very much, and we'll go through that rating later.
Gizmo:We reviewed that on episode 12. And there's also another one that's a variation of this exact cigar called the Sand Shark, which features a Cameroon wrapper. But that is incredibly hard to find. Apparently, they would make it for Marvin Shanken over at CA. That was one of his favorite Arturo Fuente's.
Gizmo:They threw the Cameroon on it and then it would come out every once in a while and be different shop exclusive like Holt's had them. But they're very hard to find. But thankfully, these are not. So I think for the listener out there who, depending on how this review goes tonight, might want to get some. I don't think you're gonna have a hard time finding them.
Gizmo:What are you getting on the aroma rooster?
Bam Bam:It's excellent.
Rooster:The aroma has a lot of spice. Hits your nose.
Bam Bam:I'm getting a bakery type thing.
Gizmo:Yeah, there's definitely a baking thing there.
Bam Bam:Not baking spice, but like a baked good of
Gizmo:some It's like doughy,
Rooster:not on the draw.
Pagoda:On the aroma.
Gizmo:On the burn line.
Chef Ricky:Getting like the edges of brownie, a fresh baked brownie.
Bam Bam:Something like I mean,
Senator:I'm getting both of those things. To me, if you smell the bird line, sure there's the dessert notes, but there's
Gizmo:spice There's definitely pepper there.
Bam Bam:You know what it is? Kind of a for me, it's weird. It's like an almost like an anise, a very slight anise aroma, which is strange. I like the cigar. What are you getting on the draw?
Gizmo:It's it's reminding me of a candy when I was a kid, and I can't remember which one. It's not like a big name.
Bam Bam:I think it's the one with the peanuts, the dark chocolate, and it came with a deep dark brown wrapper, came in little candies like this, that's what I'm kinda getting to. Do you
Gizmo:know what it was called?
Chef Ricky:No. That is peanut chew.
Bam Bam:Something like that.
Gizmo:That might be it.
Bam Bam:I'm getting
Gizmo:sister to that was another one called the Charleston Chew.
Chef Ricky:The Charleston Chew. It was yellow?
Gizmo:Yep. That might be the one I'm thinking of, is the Charleston Chew.
Bam Bam:I'm getting a little nutty.
Chef Ricky:The Charleston Chew, I think, had a little marshmallow in it or something like that. Are
Rooster:you getting peanuts?
Bam Bam:Nuts. I'm getting a nutty thing and a little walnut and deep, like a dark chocolate.
Gizmo:Yeah, I would say dark chocolate.
Bam Bam:And walnuts for me.
Rooster:Like a little bit of earth. Maybe a little leather.
Pagoda:Hence the earth.
Rooster:There's a little sweetness to it.
Pagoda:No
Chef Ricky:one's really calling out pepper. I'm getting a little spice on my palate for sure.
Gizmo:I'm getting it more on the nose and through
Chef Ricky:the retro aroma.
Bam Bam:Me too.
Gizmo:I'm not getting it so much on the draw. On the palate.
Senator:Think BAM's walnut call out is spot on. I'm getting exactly that. It's like a drier nut. But there's Yeah. Not a ton of sweetness.
Senator:Like it's all dark chocolate, walnut, which is dry, some spice. There's faint sweetness. It's kind of
Bam Bam:a good cigar to pair with a nice deep spirit of some kind like hopefully what we're going to have tonight.
Pagoda:Let's get started on that.
Bam Bam:Well, I'm just saying, cigars like this beg for a drink.
Chef Ricky:Oh yeah.
Bam Bam:Not that it needs it because I could drink this with a cup of coffee and be
Rooster:very I was just going say a double espresso would be great
Bam Bam:with a double espresso I on a fall
Chef Ricky:need some cream and
Rooster:Guinness. Coffee with
Chef Ricky:That too. Would be great.
Bam Bam:Sitting on the patio. As the sun is setting, it's fall, The leaves are falling.
Gizmo:Yeah. I really like the I'm, what, a quarter of an inch in now? There's like a candy thing to me that's happening here that's very unique. I'm really enjoying
Bam Bam:it. Yeah, chocolate for me, deep chocolate.
Pagoda:Something dark. Yeah, I'm getting it's nutty and chocolate.
Rooster:So you are getting a sweet note if you say candy.
Gizmo:Yeah, I'm getting a sweet note for But I'm
Bam Bam:not gonna sweet. Not for me overly sweet, but a deep dark chocolate that's not necessarily sweet.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. But I get that.
Bam Bam:Still pleasant.
Gizmo:Yep. So let's talk about the cigar boys. The cigar has been around for a long time. I was actually surprised when I dug into the history of a little bit. I was surprised how long this has been around.
Gizmo:This cigar was first released in 2001, one year after the original Anejo line debuted from Fuente in the year 2000. So this cigar was not one of the original Vitolas in the Anejo line. So the Anejo line is fascinating to me because what happened is it kinda came together by accident. So there was a hurricane in 1998 named Hurricane George, and the hurricane destroyed 17 of Fuente's 19 tobacco barns, creating serious problems for
Rooster:their
Gizmo:tobacco inventory, including the Dominican wrapper used for Fuente Fuente Opus X. Of course, early two thousands, late nineties, that was when Opus X was really starting to define what a premium cigar was commanding a high price exclusivity rare and people chase those cigars. I've heard I've never had one, but I've heard those original release Opus X were brilliant cigars. Right? Instead of stopping producing cigars built around that style of Dominican tobacco, Carlito developed the Anejo line.
Gizmo:The concept was to take a Dominican binder and filler closely related to the Opus X recipe, and then they replaced the Dominican sun grown wrapper on the Opus with a dark Connecticut broadleaf Maduro wrapper that was aged in cognac barrels. Fuente's own description emphasizes that cognac barrel aged maduro wrapper as the defining feature of Anejo. There's a little mythology around the claim that Anejo is simply the Opus X with a broadleaf wrapper. Older industry reporting described the filler and binder as very close to Opus X, not identical. But of course, Fuente doesn't say that, you know, what's the case and what is true and what isn't.
Gizmo:So I guess we could sum it up that Anejo is the sister to Opus X with the Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper that was aged in cognac barrels. So let's talk about the Shark specifically. This is one of the first times that this size was used was in the early two thousands. Of course, then it became very famous with the Opus X Shark later and the Don Carlos Eye of the Shark that we love so much. So I have a question for you guys.
Gizmo:Has anybody been smoking the Eye of the Shark recently? The Don Carlos? Had one Shark?
Bam Bam:Two weeks ago. How was it? Delicious.
Gizmo:Yeah. I haven't had one in so long. Same. Yeah. It's probably been years since I had one.
Chef Ricky:Was it you, Ben, that put it up in the chat
Bam Bam:or was it me? I think
Gizmo:I did put Yeah. As
Bam Bam:I had it here, I believe.
Gizmo:Yeah. Yeah. You were in the lounge. When did you last have one, Senator?
Senator:Probably sometime about a year ago. Probably last summer. Never had one. So
Gizmo:the broadleaf on this is
Senator:five years old. Remember, North Korea. Roosters got a box
Gizmo:of That's right.
Senator:In his locker.
Bam Bam:That's correct.
Gizmo:That's right. That's what blew
Bam Bam:up the whole membership deal.
Gizmo:Yeah. Kim Jong Un going through the lockers.
Senator:For the listener, the proprietor in North Korea literally told us, we do not go through your lockers, period.
Bam Bam:Except roosters.
Senator:And then literally said to me, with Rooster standing right there, well, Rooster keeps a box of sharks in his locker. And I was like, I thought you didn't go through the lockers. And there was obviously no response to that.
Rooster:I actually bought two boxes.
Senator:And then Rooster actually had a good point. He said, you don't even allow us to buy a box of these. It's like limit two sticks per contest.
Gizmo:I remember that.
Bam Bam:Yeah. There's just so much we can talk about with this thing. Lots to unpack with that.
Rooster:Yeah. Mean, they would limit two. I mean, every time Opus would be they would get Opus, you could only buy two. Yeah.
Gizmo:Because they were only allocated two boxes.
Senator:Which, by the way, my problem with that is that was the policy for random people who walk in that shop off the street and the exact same quantity
Gizmo:for members who
Senator:pay to support that business regularly.
Rooster:But yet, you could go, like, you know, 20 miles
Bam Bam:North?
Rooster:The other direction, and I could buy boxes.
Gizmo:Correct. I bought four boxes. Forget 20 miles.
Senator:You could go five miles up to Ramsey. I bought a box from Cigar World.
Bam Bam:Yeah. That's correct.
Rooster:It's the same same owners. Yeah.
Gizmo:Never ends with North Korea, man.
Bam Bam:No.
Gizmo:And you still go there. Interesting.
Senator:It was PTSD.
Bam Bam:How
Senator:long ago was that?
Gizmo:That was probably Month and a half? Two No, weeks no, Two months. Probably three months ago, I would say.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Haven't been back since.
Rooster:Allegedly. That's what Correct. We
Gizmo:I got to put some cameras up over there.
Senator:We need Lizard Y with a camera in there.
Bam Bam:I photograph my destinations whenever I go.
Rooster:Can't you hack into those cameras?
Bam Bam:I'm sure he can. Probably. MacGyver. Probably. Mean Gizmo.
Bam Bam:Alright, boys.
Gizmo:Let's talk about the other Correct. Eight Vitola in the Anejo line. There's a 46 by five and five eights called the 46. The 48 is 48 by seven. The 49, 49 by seven and five eighths.
Gizmo:The 50, the Robusto, 50 by five and a quarter. There's a pyramid, 55 by six called the 55. The number 60 is a 49 by six and a quarter. The number 66 is 52 by five and five eights. The eight eight eight is 44 by six and seven eights.
Gizmo:And, of course, the Shark we have in our hands, the number 77, 48 down to 64 by five and seven eights inches. So the Vitola on this, for anyone who hasn't seen it or doesn't have it in their hands, the cigar is box pressed and at the head of the cigar, it's 40 ring gauge and it kind of tapers out down to 64 all the way at the bottom. So the mouth feel on this is closer to probably after you cut it, probably like forty eight fifty, I would say.
Bam Bam:Does your box press go all the way up to the top?
Gizmo:No. The box press stops right around the top of the band.
Bam Bam:Yeah. It's about an inch down from the tip, and then it begins that box press, which is really cool.
Gizmo:And then it has almost like a bellicoso tip on it. Yeah. But I feel like these don't seem as well constructed as the Don Carlos Eye of the Shark that I've had. Like, those seem to have much more of a defined box press, and they seem sharper.
Bam Bam:It's also shorter, and it's a little wider in dimension at the bottom.
Chef Ricky:Yeah.
Bam Bam:It's wider.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. I agree with you guys. I was looking at my box press actually earlier and it's a little wonky. Yeah, a little wonky. And also the burn line, while it isn't, you know, awfully crooked, it's not straight the way eye of the shark would be.
Gizmo:Yeah. The eye of the shark we talk about any time we talk about an ash lasting. Famously, think most of us in this room have taken that cigar down all the way to the end of the smoke Incredible. Without ashing it once. Incredible.
Gizmo:I don't know if there's another cigar that I've seen anyone do that No. I remember doing that with you up at the North Lounge.
Senator:Oh, yeah. Actually, did that with
Gizmo:We did that with Pooba.
Senator:The A. Chapman Robusto Anajados.
Gizmo:That was it. Oh, wow.
Senator:Which one of my favorite cigars of all time.
Gizmo:Great cigar. So that's the story on the Anejo, boys. I was shocked to know that it was around since 2001, the line, and this cigar as well. It's been around for a long time. So I'm enjoying the flavor right now.
Gizmo:Yeah, it's very good. I've seen up and down things on the internet about it. I'm assuming as it goes through different runs through the years, but most recent reviews of it that I've seen have been fairly positive.
Bam Bam:I think it keeps your attention.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. I feel like it's settled in for me a bit. I that the dark sort of tannic note that I was getting that feels sort of like a bittersweet chocolate or a
Bam Bam:tea like Pagoda said
Chef Ricky:or or a tea. Exactly. I think it's what we're getting that what I'm getting there is maybe oak, like some nuance of oak there. I love the aroma. Yeah.
Chef Ricky:And the finish is very dry and very long. It's intoxicating. Very long, and not dry in a negative sense.
Rooster:When you say oak, you mean just woody?
Senator:Yeah. The only thing I'll say where I am now, it's actually getting sweeter, which I really like. I feel like this started super dry. Now sweetness is starting to pick up. It's more balanced.
Senator:I'm enjoying this much more at this point than I was the first few puffs. That pepper I was getting has mostly dissipated now.
Rooster:Is this one better than the one you had? Funny thing You're the only one who has had this.
Gizmo:And when did you have that?
Senator:I had this about six or seven years ago. I still remember it was out on my deck and it it kicked my ass. Mean, yeah. Was I know I had not eaten very much. I lit this in the afternoon
Bam Bam:That's tough.
Senator:On close to an empty stomach.
Gizmo:Oh, yeah. That'll get you.
Senator:And I just remember it being super intense in flavor. There was definitely some pepper. There was also quite a bit of nicotine. This is way more toned down in terms of nicotine strength version or blend now than certainly what I remember years ago. And it was much darker.
Senator:Yes. So Bam is right. The the wrapper was as close to black as like you will see on a cigar, and I feel like even the The band is different. That's what I thought. No doubt.
Senator:So like the white part at the bottom, it was either black or something else. It wasn't that
Bam Bam:Or it wasn't even there maybe.
Senator:I don't remember. Yeah.
Gizmo:But I've had a
Bam Bam:few of these.
Gizmo:I bought them I bought them from a guy in the parking lot of Walmart.
Senator:The other thing I'll say, I also had this in an there's other Vitolas in the Anejo line, right?
Gizmo:Yeah, there's nine. Yeah.
Senator:Yeah. So I had like a smaller ish ring gauge, maybe like a 46 if they make
Gizmo:You know, I just listed them like two minutes ago. Right?
Bam Bam:There was a 46. I'm not gonna remember the It exact wasn't 46.
Gizmo:46 by five and five eight. So probably 46.
Senator:Probably that one.
Gizmo:There was also there was also a 48 by seven. 48 by seven as well.
Senator:Probably the 46, and I was hoping that that would be like a more toned down version. It wasn't as nicotine heavy, but it I don't know that I've ever said with a cigar, it's too it's too much flavor. It was actually like too flavorful. It was just like my palate was way overstimulated and it was super sweet.
Gizmo:My lobster's too buttery. My steak's too
Rooster:juicy. That
Pagoda:must have been difficult.
Gizmo:My cigar's too flavorful. It was?
Senator:No. It was just like an overload of like almost burnt brown sugar. It was just really
Bam Bam:sweet and delicious. Saying that. I'm really loving this cigar right now. The retro now is fantastic. I'm getting a reduction of brown sugar type of Yeah, thing
Senator:that's what I remember I'm not kidding. Vividly
Gizmo:about
Rooster:Like caramelization of this.
Bam Bam:Something like that. That's happening right now. You get it on the typical draw on your palate.
Senator:It's fantastic.
Chef Ricky:It's probably what you were getting earlier, I guess.
Gizmo:I'm still getting it. I love Let me
Bam Bam:tell you, and the retrohale has really smoothed out.
Gizmo:I think my sweetness came in a little earlier than the rest of you, but I'm really enjoying the cigar.
Bam Bam:This is ridiculous, I'm totally shocked. I'm surprised.
Gizmo:Again, go back to the more expensive Arturo Fuente cigars that we've had such difficulty smoking on this podcast, and we have one that I You could find this for under $20 right now in 2026. And it's smoking for me way better than most of the other high end Fuente cigars we've had.
Rooster:What's the price on the Don Carlos, the eye of the shark?
Gizmo:I would think MSRP is probably but high what you're actually going to find it for with the retailer markup is probably going to be closer to 40. Yeah. Yeah. Mid thirties, 40. But they're so hard to find.
Rooster:How many do you need? I mean, but this for, you know, for $16
Bam Bam:This is great.
Rooster:So far, it's
Bam Bam:it's very the bill. Really satisfying.
Gizmo:So Pigar was talking about this before we hit record tonight. The Anejo line is not as prevalent as the Hemingway series, the rare pinks, some of the other stuff that Fuente puts out. Often, you'll see these come out around Father's Day and around Christmas. So, of course, there's a lot of opus that comes out around those times, which kind of takes the headline at cigar shops and what you see on Instagram as far as new releases and what everybody's excited about. But those are the two times that these are these are coming out.
Gizmo:This number 77 is certainly the most rare of all the Anejo wine simply I think because it's just probably the one to make.
Bam Bam:So
Gizmo:I'm glad we have these in our hands tonight. Yeah. Let's go to some news, boys. Couple exciting things to talk about. First up, I am very excited to share with our audience and you guys, if you didn't see it, that Bond Roberts
Chef Ricky:Oh, I saw this.
Gizmo:Will now be offering New World cigars for auction. So folks that want those cigars they can't find will be able to purchase them on Bond Roberts New World Auctions.
Senator:Something tells me there's gonna be an Opus Dubai box on there very soon.
Gizmo:Correct. $1,750,
Rooster:maybe?
Pagoda:$21.50.
Chef Ricky:The second part to that announcement that excited me was the database.
Gizmo:Yes. So they're building a place to catalog your collection and understand its value in real time.
Bam Bam:That's cool.
Gizmo:So you're going to be able to put in everything you have in your collection, and they're going to keep a real time tally of what your collection is worth.
Rooster:Can I have a direct link
Senator:to Oh, our that's brilliant?
Rooster:Direct link to the IRS.
Gizmo:Rob's an agent.
Pagoda:And let them know I'll be providing insurance for all of them.
Gizmo:There you go. I'd
Bam Bam:like them to do this for the Cuban collection.
Gizmo:Well, that's what they're gonna do. It's gonna be amazing. No. No. The first part of the announcement is that they are now gonna have New World cigars as well as Cubans available for
Chef Ricky:auction. Ah.
Gizmo:The second part of the announcement is that you're gonna be able to catalog your entire collection
Bam Bam:Incredible.
Gizmo:And they're going to give you a live tally of what it's worth in real time.
Rooster:Not doing it.
Gizmo:Not doing it.
Senator:No. Honestly, it's fun to look at. So, like, this is big in the watch space. Chrono 24 has had this feature for a very long time. You put in your purchase price, the model, all that, and it shows you kinda like you're looking at a stock's performance, how it's performing over time, and what your entire collection's valued at.
Senator:It's very smart to do that in the cigar space.
Pagoda:Should have kept that box of Fundies.
Gizmo:And I think the impetus for Rob was not so much the transactional piece of it, but more that some members who, Friends of El Habano, FOH on the forum have passed. Their next of kin have reached out to Rob. Like, what the hell do I do with these cigars? What are they worth? What can I do with them?
Gizmo:So this is going to be a way that you're going to be able to share that in some meaningful way with next of kin at the time you decide to. I'm not certainly going to be sharing my live collection value with Mrs. Gizmo, you know, you know, in real time. I'm not going to allow her to check that.
Senator:You might not wake up. Correct.
Gizmo:I could get a Louis Vuitton purse. Two of them. So I'm pretty excited about that.
Chef Ricky:Next to your avatar on FoH, there'll be the value of your cigar collection.
Gizmo:Yeah, the dollar signs. So I thought that was pretty cool. And I'm looking forward to seeing it. Obviously, they're not going to have every New World cigar available, but I'm curious to see what the initial launch is going to have. They're going have like 150 boxes, I think, up there at the start.
Gizmo:Then I don't think it's a good idea.
Rooster:I mean, the divorce rate in this country is already high. Can you imagine if the women find out what the guys are paying for their cigars and what kind of a collection they have?
Bam Bam:Well, got a point. He's got a point.
Chef Ricky:The goal is for them not to find out until you pass.
Gizmo:Yeah. There's gotta be like a mechanism, like a kill switch. Like if you die, an email goes to them.
Chef Ricky:That's it.
Gizmo:With a login information, but
Chef Ricky:Yeah. Apple has the legacy contact now. Know? They could do something like that.
Gizmo:So we'll see what happens, but looking forward to seeing what's next here from Bon Roberts. One more, boys. I saw this. This was not prompted by chef Ricky, but anyone who's in the New York City area on Yejo is throwing their for the love of agave events. Right.
Gizmo:Go. In just a couple weeks on Monday, September 14, which is fantastic. It doesn't collide with recording days anymore Mhmm. Since we record on Wednesdays now.
Chef Ricky:Right.
Gizmo:7PM, Monday, September 14 on Yejo Tribeca 301 Church Street, New York City. Go to their website, annejonyc.com, and get your tickets for the love of agave. What do you want to tell the folks about the event?
Chef Ricky:I think if you have even the smallest interest in agave distillates and what else is out there outside of what you've been drinking, this is a great event to go to. You'll be able to learn a lot, not only about tequila, but also mezcal and some other distillates such as saltol, baccarna, rice, there's some exciting stuff out there.
Bam Bam:Rub elbows with chef.
Pagoda:Can you tell us some more about the food as well?
Chef Ricky:Yeah, we usually have a taco bar downstairs for people to eat after or during their tasting experience, which you will need because there's over, we'll probably have over 60 expressions to taste from over 30 brands present.
Senator:Oh, we know. Yeah. My only advice for the listener, Uber.
Gizmo:Yeah. Correct.
Bam Bam:It's a great event.
Senator:But it is cool. The fact that in one place, you get to try so many different types of tequilas and not have to commit to buying bottles like we do when we review all this stuff. I think we discovered a lot of really cool stuff.
Gizmo:That's where we discovered Don Julio at that event. That's where we fell in love.
Bam Bam:Yeah. I take that's a paint stripper now.
Senator:Gizmo Ben from Anejo. Yeah, I'm not allowed to.
Gizmo:Give some examples of the brands that folks will be able to try at the event. Certainly stuff Yeah, we've had
Chef Ricky:we'll have the entire line of we'll have Lost Lore, we'll have Catedral, we'll have Magenta, we'll have Cascades present. G4? The portfolio that represents G4 will be there, the brand ambassador. G4
Bam Bam:will
Chef Ricky:be there along with others such as Don Fulano and whatnot. That's where we discovered Valance.
Gizmo:And And Lalo Magenta.
Bam Bam:That's correct.
Gizmo:That's where we picked those up for review.
Chef Ricky:In some cases, for a lot of these brands, it's usually the brand ambassadors that are present at these events. But for some of the brands that are even smaller, it's the actual maker. So it's a great time to just conversate with people that are passionate about what they're
Gizmo:And of course, bring your Lounge Lizard hat or t shirt and chef would be happy to sign it for
Chef Ricky:you. And listen, we have tables, so by all means, if you bring a cigar, you're more than welcome to sit outside. It's a private event, so it's the only time we're allowed to do it. You could sit outside and smoke a cigar.
Bam Bam:I have to interrupt you. Look at everyone's ash.
Gizmo:It's incredible.
Bam Bam:I am impressed with the construction.
Gizmo:It's pretty razor sharp. I'm not feeling that it's flimsy in any way.
Bam Bam:No, it's not flaky.
Gizmo:I feel like I could shake it around and it's not going to come off.
Chef Ricky:It's pretty dense. Beautifully made.
Gizmo:So go to onyejonyc.com. Get your tickets for the love of agave, September 14, Monday night, 7PM down in Tribeca. Go meet chef, and maybe some of the other lizards would be there. We'll see. So let's talk more about alcohol boys.
Gizmo:Let's go to our pairing.
Bam Bam:Yes. Praise the Lord.
Gizmo:I know. Pagoda's been waiting. He's given me the eyes.
Chef Ricky:Beautiful color on this.
Gizmo:We have the Beautiful. El Dorado, 12 years age rum from Guyana. Wow. First product from Guyana that we have ever What do mean that? Had on the
Bam Bam:Cheers, boys. Cheers. Cheers. Let's diffuse this argument right now.
Gizmo:Well, I think he's saying that he vacations a lot. Very complimentary to the cigar.
Chef Ricky:Wow. Lot of Who coffee on
Senator:do you think, Pam?
Bam Bam:You picked this?
Senator:Of course.
Bam Bam:I found another favorite, man. Is Wow. What do we know about this? Are there additives? Is it clean?
Gizmo:So that's an interesting question, Pam. Senator, what did you find on Lifestyle?
Bam Bam:This is really, really good.
Senator:So this brand's been very controversial because people have loved it for a while, but the early releases of this definitely had a ton of added sugar.
Gizmo:Like in the 30 or 40? Yeah, Like a lot. Well, I forget what the measurement is. Is it milligrams per grams per liter?
Chef Ricky:Per liter. Yeah.
Senator:And then in 2000, to their credit, I think they realized people were and I didn't even realize that that early starting to like really want additive free products and like were much more conscious about sugar that was being added to spirits, things like that. So they like voluntarily, dramatically across all their lines, reduced added sugar. Some have none, some have very little. And people have said really good things about their releases post 2000. So I've never had it until now.
Senator:I just in reading the flavor profile, and I've had this cigar before to know it should work well.
Bam Bam:It's a great pairing. And I'm getting sweet salted butter on this rum and quite long finish.
Chef Ricky:I get like coffee. Coffee bean present here for me. Man, this is kind of I can switch this out with
Bam Bam:several rums, but I think it stands alone. Yeah. It's unique. It is. If it's reminiscent to anything, it could be the Abuelo seven, just a touch, maybe, But this is really quite good.
Gizmo:So the price on this bottle was $37. Wow. Wow. Twelve years aged.
Chef Ricky:It dances on your palate like what I remembered La Maria Lita doing. But it leans a little bit darker towards the finish. It's half the price, no? I think so, yeah.
Pagoda:Does this
Senator:Yeah, Marilita is like 65.
Bam Bam:Yeah. I don't mind the price.
Rooster:You shouldn't, it's $37
Bam Bam:Yeah, think it's excellent.
Gizmo:Well I think he's comparing it to some of the rums that
Bam Bam:we're Like Vuelo.
Gizmo:You know, you're getting in the twenties. The flordicano. Forticano is in what, 20 Yeah. 28?
Bam Bam:But I think this is worth every dollar.
Pagoda:Yeah, no, this is Right? I agree with you, this is, for me also, it's closer to the Abuelo, like even in terms of the viscosity, the texture.
Bam Bam:I think it's a bit more, I think it drinks a touch more sophisticated than the Abuelo. Both are excellent, they're just a little different. I think this is really a step up.
Senator:So just a little bit about El Dorado. So it's a Demerara rum made at the Diamond Distillery on the East Bank of the Demerara River. So people are probably very familiar with Diamond Sugar. Like the original like Diamond Sugar facility. Yeah.
Senator:That's interesting. Was like attached to one
Gizmo:of the
Senator:original Diamond distilleries. They no longer produce sugar at that factory anymore, but it's historic in that I think that's where it had initially started and then of course moved over time. Rum making has been huge in Guyana for three hundred years.
Gizmo:God bless them.
Senator:I didn't know that. Says that the first known distillation in Guyana dates back to 1670. By 1780, there were 300 plus distilleries. Oh, I know.
Bam Bam:Well, Rooster was like counting the brick.
Gizmo:How was the sugar? How was the mortar?
Rooster:It was like a diamond in the rough.
Pagoda:It is
Bam Bam:in those days. Major project.
Gizmo:Know some of the listeners are sick of that joke, but I am not. So
Senator:by 1780, this is the wildest part, there were more than 300 different distilleries operating in Guyana, which is don't think there's anywhere that produces rum that's ever had 300 active distilleries at any point. But the sad part is that today there's only one distillery left and it's El Dorado. Wow. Interesting.
Pagoda:How does that happen?
Senator:Now the cool thing is though, all those distilleries that closed, they basically took different components from their facility, so different types of column stills that they had and things like that, moved them to the El Dorado distillery, the Diamond distillery there. So it's kind of this it's become this like mix of all these different influences from all these different distilleries, different types of stills and methods that now produce the rum they make. So they've kind of preserved the history in that way, which is pretty cool.
Gizmo:Are you still laughing about your rooster joke? I see, Senator, that they offer a three, a five, an eight, which is interesting. A 12, a 15, and a 21. Wow. And then a bunch of limited edition stuff.
Bam Bam:Wow. Lot of variety. Lot of variety.
Senator:I'm curious to try the other stuff. From what I've seen, the 12 is probably their most popular. And then the interesting thing, the brand itself, El Dorado, is actually much newer. So like I mentioned, the Diamond Distillery has been there for a very, very long time. And there's a history of the other ones.
Senator:There are different parts of the production process that have moved over. But Eldorado itself wasn't launched until 1992, and their first drum was their fifteen year old special reserve, and then they obviously created a whole bunch else in their line after that.
Gizmo:I did not know that that country was so rooted in sugar. I had no idea that that's where they were producing a lot of sugar, obviously a long but time that's pretty amazing. So where is this country? Does anybody know?
Rooster:Guyana? Next to Trinidad.
Pagoda:It's South America.
Chef Ricky:It's in The Caribbean though?
Pagoda:No, north of why South America.
Gizmo:I asked. Hey Siri. Because I honestly have no idea, but where is it Pagoda?
Pagoda:It's South America, I think Northeast Of Venezuela, maybe. It's right on top, top of South America, around there. They discovered a lot of oil there as well recently.
Bam Bam:Yeah, their economy is booming right now.
Gizmo:So I see that it is immediately to the right of Venezuela, to the Northeast Of Brazil. It's a pretty big country actually.
Pagoda:It's a big country, yeah.
Gizmo:It's right on the Atlantic Ocean.
Bam Bam:Interesting. Think
Pagoda:about 50% of the population is Indian.
Gizmo:Wow. Oh,
Pagoda:wow. And the prime minister was Indian as well. What? You can recognize, like Guyanese, have you met Guyanese people? We live
Senator:Well, don't we have one in our lounge show? I always thought he Indian, and he's actually
Pagoda:Oh, sorry. Guyanese. Can you delete that? Yeah. Lizard.
Senator:That's a gun.
Gizmo:It's not like we're saying something bad.
Bam Bam:Who is it?
Gizmo:Who is it?
Senator:Can you delete that lizard? He's
Pagoda:deleted. You delete that
Gizmo:mic? Who is it?
Rooster:Who is it?
Pagoda:His best friend. Alberto's best friend.
Rooster:It's the guy who works for BMW.
Senator:Oh, I
Gizmo:got it. Okay. Got it.
Bam Bam:Oh, really?
Gizmo:That's cool. Interesting. So why did you ask if we've ever met any folks from there? Is there something?
Pagoda:No, there's a lot of them. There are a lot of them in New York City. And they're very, for whatever reason, it's like Indian speaking with a Caribbean kind of an accent. It's really interesting.
Rooster:So their forefathers were brought to Guyana under the British rule. When Brits ruled India, they took a lot of people, you know, because was a British colony, I guess, at one
Bam Bam:time. Interesting.
Rooster:So that's so they I don't think they speak
Pagoda:They don't speak the language. But they
Rooster:follow the Indian culture, and their food is also very,
Pagoda:very Now you've got to think that when a society, when there's a huge group of people who move from one country to another, a lot of the people try and preserve that culture. So it's really funny that some of them are even more religious and more, it's really like they're so much more Indian than in their own Indians are even in India, you know? Because in India the cultures continue to evolve, but over there, they've tried to preserve So them they while they mix with somewhat of the Caribbean kind of a culture, it's really interesting.
Gizmo:This is a fascinating evening, boys. Yes. Between the cigar shocking me, the rum shocking Correct. The stories that we're hearing about the rum and the culture. This is fascinating.
Gizmo:Yeah.
Pagoda:By the way
Gizmo:And we're talking, the way, about a 37 bottle of rum and a $16 cigar that we got tonight. That's pretty crazy.
Chef Ricky:It's a lovely evening.
Gizmo:So boys, we've come to the end of the first third on the Arturo Fuente Anejo Reserva Extra Viejo Limited, number 77, the Shark. And I think most of us just asked for the first time, which is crazy being forty minutes into this episode.
Bam Bam:Well, of us are still standing.
Gizmo:What are guys thinking about the cigar?
Bam Bam:It's excellent. I think that the cigar was outstanding prior to the drink. The long finish, as you take a draw of the cigar, it commingles perfectly.
Rooster:This cigar is almost as good as the Don Carlos Shark.
Bam Bam:It's fantastic, man. Wow.
Rooster:It's different. It's mean, far as flavor wise?
Bam Bam:Well, it's not the same flavor, but the flavor is as delicious, I Exactly.
Pagoda:But the
Bam Bam:shark is there's a more creamy experience.
Rooster:But for the price, for dollar for dollar, you're getting I agree. You know, it's great value.
Bam Bam:Definitely.
Senator:I mean, I'll also say it's even getting sweeter now, and not in that overly sweet way that I remember the first one. Like right now, this is really tasty. I'm actually, I'm also impressed.
Bam Bam:It's awesome.
Pagoda:It's really interesting, you know, like this cigar is leaving such a, like, you know, I was like this pleasant feeling on the top of my palate, only in the front for whatever reason. Like it's not enveloping the whole, like I haven't been able to figure that out, but it's very, very pleasant, even in the mouthfeel. Like, it's great.
Gizmo:I'm shocked by the cigar, honestly. Yeah. I think it's really, really good. I think you're spot on, Rooster, you know, that it's very different, but it's giving you an experience that's reminiscent of the Shark. It's effortless right now.
Gizmo:Nobody's had to reach for their lighter.
Bam Bam:The level of quality is reminiscent.
Gizmo:Yes. Yeah. Very different flavor.
Bam Bam:Of course.
Gizmo:The quality is definitely there.
Rooster:Can you taste that the tobacco is kinda aged in these cognac barrels? Like, can you get that get that flavor?
Chef Ricky:Sweetness that you're getting.
Rooster:Would say that it's kinda coming from that.
Gizmo:It could be.
Chef Ricky:I feel that.
Gizmo:What a great pairing tonight.
Bam Bam:That's excellent.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. Let's go to some news now. This one you're gonna love. The Spanish government has now set their sights on banning smoking in private spaces.
Rooster:Oh. What is going on?
Gizmo:So they can they
Bam Bam:can walk into your living room?
Gizmo:So the government has approved a total ban on smoking in outdoor public spaces, of course, as we've talked about before, including open air places, stadiums, terraces, bullfighting rings, concerts, beaches, and public parks. But now they are wanting to eliminate the current exemption for private smoking clubs. That's perfect.
Pagoda:You know, hash from Morocco is allowed. Tobacco's not. Yeah, but tobacco's not.
Gizmo:So, apparently it's not something that's gonna probably happen right now, that they're not expecting that this ban is gonna be passed, but the fact that they're talking about this and they've had the success in Spain banning tobacco and cigar smoking everywhere, now they're trying to ban it from your private club, from your garage, from your living room. They don't want you smoking anywhere. Like, the overreach on this is so
Chef Ricky:What's the problem?
Gizmo:Mind blowingly stupid to me. How can they
Rooster:prevent you from smoking in your own house or garage?
Senator:I mean, they can't actively, but all it takes is someone like a neighbor to complain. And reports it. Yeah, you're kidding. Told you have to stop and you'll be fined.
Rooster:So it's like that in Canada.
Bam Bam:You get rented out by your neighbor.
Rooster:You can't smoke outside your own house. No. No. You can smoke inside. Like on a front air, like
Bam Bam:Can I shoot?
Rooster:A neighbor can complain.
Bam Bam:Can I shoot someone if they walk out of my property?
Rooster:I would. Alright. We know. Trespassing.
Pagoda:I'll tell you, humans are not gonna be allowed to enjoy it all.
Gizmo:Yeah, I just don't understand the thinking here. Like, I get not wanting it at a bus stop or in a park or at a concert or a baseball game.
Rooster:I get place.
Gizmo:I get that. But if you designate a space for a private member club to sit and enjoy cigars like we do, for the government to say that that is now not allowed without having disrupted or bothered anybody by doing it, our smoke isn't bothering anybody right now. Nope. What's the point?
Rooster:It's crazy. I mean, was at an LCDH in Toronto one time, and I walked in just assuming that you should be able to smoke a cigar in a lounge that they have. And a cigar shop there.
Gizmo:A cigar shop.
Rooster:So I bought a cigar, I was gonna light it up. Owner goes, I'm sorry, you can't smoke here. I'm like, You
Gizmo:can't smoke in a cigar lounge
Rooster:off an LCDH.
Chef Ricky:Cue the Twilight Zone music. So
Gizmo:they were like, no, you can't. I said, okay, can
Rooster:I smoke on your outside patio? They're like, no, you can't smoke on the outside patio. You have to be 100 feet away from the building. So you can smoke on a bench like out like, way out there because they don't want their employees to be affected by the cigar smoke. So I said, why do your employees why do they want to work at a cigar shop?
Pagoda:Place if they don't
Rooster:If they you can't you know, it's it's insane.
Pagoda:This is insane.
Chef Ricky:I don't get it. You're supposed to trust buying there when they don't smoke cigars themselves.
Pagoda:No. We should go to we should they should go to the prime minister's house and smoke over there.
Gizmo:If this were to pass at any point, Spain would be the first place in the world to ban smoking in private facilities. So apparently, the government this is according to Cigar Journal, the government, which is a coalition of left wing parties, lacks majority support in parliament and will face an uphill battle to pass the measure in congress at this time. The executive branch is currently in a position of extreme weakness, it says, beset by corruption scandals and the refusal of Catalan nationalist parties to support any of its initiatives. So they've got a lot going on. But the fact, again, that the health minister is saying, we want to ban smoking in private places seems like it's probably an inevitable thing down the road.
Gizmo:Hopefully, can stop it, but we will see. Here's another one that is going to frustrate the hell out of you guys, and we're gonna call our listeners, all the wizards out there to action. The United Kingdom is putting together a proposal for plain packaging. They are going to legislate for plain packaging. And I guess there is now forty days or thirty five days until it probably is going to become law.
Gizmo:There's an opportunity to sign up and let them hear your voice about why plain packaging is crazy. You can go to savecigars.co.uk, and as a consumer, voice your concern. I'm assuming that this is a futile effort to do this because they're probably just using those responses to figure out the loopholes that people are gonna work through to get around this or any other ideas that they can get out of it. But, you know, just like in Canada, it looks like plain packaging is gonna be coming to The UK.
Rooster:It seems like Rafaela had the foresight of doing that with the fabric of Yeah? Five cigars.
Senator:Plain packaging. Sorry. The stupidity of this on The UK's part. They have already gone to such an extreme passing a generational tobacco ban. Right?
Senator:So you're wholesale just saying like, all these now generations of people
Gizmo:cannot Legendary lounges. Buy tobacco.
Senator:Yeah. And now, you're doing this whole plain packaging thing. Like, if all these people can't even purchase the product, and you're saying though the people before it can, why are you changing the packaging? Like, you've already said you're okay with people born before a certain date to purchase. So what problem are you solving for by putting this whole plain packaging thing You into
Pagoda:know, in UK, it's the biggest problem, right? Cigar smoking, because everybody is, really, all the smokers are down at the NHS. What the hell's going on? They have hundreds of other problems. Why are they focusing on these
Gizmo:little Yeah. It's ridiculous. So let's talk about some of the negatives here that come with plain packaging, as has been demonstrated in Canada. Number one, the black market goes crazy. These cigars are snuck in, taxes are not paid, duties are not paid.
Gizmo:They could be counterfeit.
Pagoda:Correct.
Gizmo:People don't know what they're buying, but they're trying to get around plain packaging.
Pagoda:It
Bam Bam:could be fake.
Gizmo:Number two, a big thing that happened in Canada with plain packaging is, of course, what happens, let's say, Hunters and Franco or JJ Fox, they have to put these bands on. They have to cover everything up, all the boxes, everything else. There's a lot of labor involved. So what Canada has seen is a dramatic decrease in the SKUs. How many cigars are actually being offered?
Gizmo:So where in most countries, if there's an LCDH, you might be able to walk in and buy one of 150 cigars, plain packaging. Now they're not going to do that on all 150 cigars, especially if there's cigars that don't sell as well. So does that mean that in The UK, you're not gonna be able to buy a Schwa Supreme? You're not gonna be able to buy a Corona Sclero? You're not gonna be able to buy cigars that are kind of
Bam Bam:You won't even know what you're getting.
Gizmo:For the As a consumer. The connoisseur. Yeah. You're not even gonna know what you're getting.
Bam Bam:And who's handling the repackaging?
Gizmo:I think the distributor has to do that before it gets to the retail shop. So I think it's when it's bonded in a warehouse.
Bam Bam:Wow.
Gizmo:Assuming it comes in from Habanos, bonded in the warehouse, they have to plain package it, take all the cigars
Bam Bam:And pay for that labor.
Gizmo:And they have to pay for that labor
Bam Bam:and And add pay that to the cost of
Gizmo:the So
Rooster:the skew rip down the wrappers as you take the bands off?
Bam Bam:Yep, and tear the
Gizmo:Not cover the existing.
Rooster:Oh, I see. So that you could
Gizmo:take them off at home. But still, it's a lot of labor and time, you know. So again, you could go to savecigars.co.uk and let your voice be heard on this. Again, I don't know. It seems inevitable.
Gizmo:This is crazy. They've already passed, as Senator said, generational ban. I mean, Churchill has gotta be rolling in his grave with this stuff.
Senator:I mean, it's just Yeah. Sorry. Like, The UK is out. Like, this is ridiculous. Between Canada and The UK, these are beautiful places to normally visit, and at this point, I have no interest in spending time in either.
Gizmo:And that's another point, Senator, thank you for bringing that up. Apparently, a significant percentage, I think upwards of 40 or 50% of all the cigars sold in The United Kingdom, especially in London, are sold to tourists who are coming into town and are purchasing cigars from these retailers that provide jobs, tax revenue, good places for people to meet and congregate and have great conversation, And they're ripping that away because they don't like the idea of someone That's all going to come to using tobacco. It's just lunacy. So, again, savecigars.co.uk. Let your voice be heard.
Gizmo:You know, hopefully, a mass of voices will help this not get passed, but we shall see what happens. Another one here, boys. This one's coming out of Florida. I'm not sure if you guys saw this, but the Saint Augustine Beach has banned all types of smoking, including vapes, cigarettes, etcetera. However, Florida law prevents them from banning cigars.
Gizmo:So the Saint Augustine Beach has banned smoking and vaping in public parks and beach areas, effectively asking nicotine users to stop standing around with brightly colored electronics and began carrying themselves with a little dignity, the article says. The ordinance covers cigars, e cigarettes, vape pens. Unfiltered premium cigars, however, remain legal because Florida law specifically prevents cities and counties from banning them at public beaches and parks.
Bam Bam:Come on. That's amazing.
Gizmo:So cigars cannot be banned under Florida law by these municipalities. That is what I'm talking about.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Senator:That tells you how many Florida state legislators smoke cigars.
Gizmo:Smoke cigars.
Bam Bam:That's
Gizmo:true. I mean, the governor was just on the cover of Cigar Aficionado with
Bam Bam:a cigar. Crazy.
Rooster:No wonder Poohba moved there.
Pagoda:I think I'm gonna be moving there. Yeah.
Bam Bam:This is
Gizmo:And one more for you boys. Kay Dorsey has a new Addision Limitada coming out. It's called the Concordia. And what's interesting about this is Addision Limitada is usually reserved for the global brands, the Cohibas, the Partagas, Romeo and Julieta, even Trinidad. But it's interesting to see QD is now getting one.
Gizmo:So apparently the Concordia addition limitatas 26 is a 50 ring gauge cigar by five and three quarters inches long, which is a pitola that they used one other time for the Monte Cristo Les Esprit, which was a limited edition cigar that came out in ST DuPont Humidors. So as far as regular production, limited production, this is the first time they're using it in a cigar that most folks are going to be able to find somewhere. So the launch event for the Concordia will take place on Saturday, October 24 in Madrid. Funny enough, they're going be launching it in Spain, given what we just talked about, Hosted by Tabaclera, the Spanish distributor for Cuban cigars. I mean, it's just this world is lunacy, man.
Gizmo:So of course, the Addision Limitada series is an annual release from Habanos S. A. They select some of their famous brands and they produce Fotolas that are not regularly offered for sale in that brand or in this case any brand. And, of course, the age on these is a minimum of two years. So that is the first edition limitada announced for 2026.
Gizmo:Even though they are doing a launch event, I'm curious when these will actually hit the market if they ever will. Know, Habanos obviously is trying to keep a brave face in despite what's going on in Cuba and all of the difficulties there. So I'm curious if we'll actually ever see these on the market, but they will be launching them in October. What's everybody think about the cigar right now and the pairing?
Rooster:It sucks. It's amazing.
Pagoda:Loving it.
Senator:I'm shocked, honestly. It's excellent.
Pagoda:The pairing is doing really well as well. Dare I say,
Bam Bam:right now, it's, for me, kind of Cuban like. There's no salt for me, but savory, sweet, and graham cracker, I'm kind of getting that. I'm I'm it's reminiscent of a cigar experience of a Cuban cigar experience for me right now. It's very subtle. It's very, for me, creamy now.
Bam Bam:There's no rough edges at all. It's shocking.
Senator:I'm trying to process what you're saying because it's strange to compare this cigar to a I Cuban know. I don't think what you're saying is crazy in the sense that to me this is kind of like a hybrid between a New World and a Cuban.
Bam Bam:I like that.
Senator:In that you're getting a lot of the traditional New World flavors that you would normally get of like a Maduro or like a Connecticut Broadleaf cigar. But then the the finish is, like, so soft Yes. And, like It's so strange. And dessert like and smooth, and there's not really much earth that you would normally get on a lot of New Worlds on
Gizmo:the finish.
Senator:So I get from that standpoint, the Cuban comparison. It's fascinating. I mean, there's really nothing
Bam Bam:It's unusual.
Senator:Quite like this.
Bam Bam:Right on the money.
Chef Ricky:Super slow retrohale for me on this. It's producing butterscotch.
Bam Bam:I agree. It's graham cracker y. It's crazy. Vanilla butterscotchy,
Gizmo:the cigar. It's really unusual. I honestly came in tonight pessimistic because I had heard some of the other experiences. I had been reading stuff online that it was a strong cigar, that it was all cedar, it was all wood. I don't know what these people are talking about, or if this
Senator:Never has been cedar in this.
Chef Ricky:No. Yeah, no cedar. This is, yes, no cedar.
Gizmo:This is fantastic.
Bam Bam:It's awesome.
Chef Ricky:I'll tell you
Pagoda:one thing, we need to do an analysis, because every time you come pessimistic, the cigar's gray. Every time you're optimistic,
Senator:I think that's not a
Pagoda:bad idea.
Gizmo:You know, I think you're onto something there.
Senator:I think that goes beyond cigar spaghetti. Oh, Aw, come on now.
Gizmo:Yeah, Caesar salads. I do love a good Caesar. Alright, boys. Let's go to some listener email and commentary now. We're gonna start with this one, a follow-up from our lizard of the week.
Gizmo:Well, technically lizards of the week from two weeks ago, Lizards Al and Amy from Pittsburgh. Remember they sent in that great voice memo that we shared? He says, Giz and the Lizard team, holy f, with a bunch of symbols. Hearing you guys discuss our voice memo on the pod and being named lizard of the week is undoubtedly the coolest thing that happened to us in years. I don't know how much contact you guys have with listeners once the pod goes out into the ether, but the honor of being a small part of this week's release really feels like a brush with cigar royalty.
Gizmo:Wow. King Bam Bam. Okay. This is a long email, so feel free to skip the sentimental bits. In answer to the query about Amy's cigar habits, because remember we asked, what does Amy smoke and does she smoke with Al, etcetera?
Gizmo:He says, I'd say she probably smokes a quarter of what I do. I'm in the six to eight a week range. And she leads towards smaller things. Recent examples would be the Fabrica five n one Lancero, Trinidad Reyes that I got a few years ago and still have a few of, that sort of thing. Not necessarily a milder cigar, but smaller and shorter smokes.
Bam Bam:Impressive.
Gizmo:Amy's a badass, so she doesn't shy away from strength. For me lately, it's been the Aladino, a local tobacconist, he says, turned me on to the anniversaryo even before you guys featured it, which is cool. My father, Louis Bijou 1922, the current favorite. We rated that well. And I have both a sentimental and reasonable attachment to Padron.
Gizmo:Padron was the first high end cigar I had with one of my mentors who since passed, and so those will always have a special place in my Humidor. And as all of you have said, a bonus is that their entry levels are fantastic for buddies who are interested but are not yet cigar guys. Two comments for you. First, what a privilege to have a longtime cigar friend of your dad's. He's talking about my dad, friend asking for a sampler after hearing some of the podcast.
Gizmo:Seek you out for advice on how to transition to quote unquote real cigars. It absolutely speaks to the expertise of the group, but more importantly to how genuine and approachable you all are. As I mentioned before, I'm a wine guy, and so I 100% support a step up approach to those recommendations. If I gave someone who only had a $6 glass of Moscato of 1996 Mutan Roth schild. I don't know what that means senator.
Gizmo:You might. Not only would they not like it, they would think it is absurdly overpriced for something they can't even finish. Start with a quality wine at one quarter the price point without such strong notes and nuances and move up from there. If you don't like it, dump it. A negative first experience with high end wine, cigars, liquor, whatever has the potential to permanently turn someone against the hobby, which has so much to offer in terms of enjoyment and fellowship.
Gizmo:Second, with all due respect to the Lizard who wrote in, I think he's underestimating the value of comfort. So he's talking about the listener who was critical of us for smoking the same things repetitively or in our rotation. For example, Al says here, everyone's family has some dish that they truly love, even if it's objectively not the best Sunday gravy or meatloaf or whatever the heck, takes you back to the memories that make you happy and bring you solace from whatever in your life is causing stress. This is actually well documented in mental health literature. Remember, he's a doctor.
Gizmo:It's why you guys watched Ocean's 11 after seeing Rush and not the latest streaming and will almost certainly win Fistfuls of Awards flick. Also, it's pretty close to perfect. It has one of the best soundtracks ever. Let's talk about Oceans 11. That's cool.
Gizmo:We tie certain experiences to events, times, or emotions and seek to replicate or recapture those because of the way they make us feel. Now to the Lizard who wrote in his point, the only way to build our catalog of those comforts is to have new experiences that might prove to fall into that same category. But there's nothing wrong with wanting to just feel happy and relax for a moment with a guaranteed performance. I think he's on par on point there. Watching only Oceans Forever is bad.
Gizmo:Seeking that comfort from time to time is normal and healthy and applies to cigars too. Almost forgot. The lounge in the photo remember he I showed you guys the photo of him in the t shirt, asked about the lounge in Pittsburgh band. Yeah. He said the lounge in the photo with me and the Lizards tee, a rare exception to allowing the graphic shirt, he says
Pagoda:Mhmm.
Gizmo:Is indeed in the Northeast Suburbs of Pittsburgh above a pretty decent local restaurant.
Bam Bam:It's an Italian place. I've wanted to try it. I don't remember the name of it. It's one of the only restaurants there, I guess, that you can actually have a cigar, I believe.
Gizmo:He says it's a nice place, fine selection of cigars for all levels of smokers, good choice of spirits, and most importantly, the staff are just fantastic. The Lot at Edgewater. That's what that's what it's called. There you go, Bam. That right now.
Gizmo:For visits to Pittsburgh, there's also a lovely one attached to an indoor bocce courts, which is the bocce house Pittsburgh that doesn't have a cutting fee, has a bar, and a food truck attached and lets you play a couple of games of bocce before retiring to cigars, sports on TV, or conversation. Thanks again for the honor of Lizard of the Week, and thanks for the pod, which is a highlight of my week, and I've shared with everyone who will sit long enough for me to tell them about it. Don't hesitate to reach out if you're in Pittsburgh and have a little extra time in the itinerary. I'm a great cook, and Amy is a killer grill master, so I'm always happy to provide a friendly spot for a meal, drinks, smokes, or just advice of places to try. PS, please let Bam know I have burned my designer sandals, and I've encouraged all of my friends to do the same.
Gizmo:Best to the group, Lizard Al and Amy. I do hope he bought some white sneakers.
Bam Bam:Yeah. What's wrong with that? Chef's wearing some beauties right now.
Gizmo:Great email from Lizard Al.
Bam Bam:Yes. Now I will say the lot of Edgewater is way, way outside of Pittsburgh, so I have no idea what that is. But sounds great.
Gizmo:Sounds like you're gonna be playing some bocce ball soon. Maybe. Let's go to another one now. This one's from our friend Lizard Enrique. He says, hello, Lizards.
Gizmo:I had the good fortune of taking a trip and getting to consume a lot of cigars. Some of the sticks were flat and some were pitch perfect. The inconsistency troubled me until I zeroed in on the cigars that were flat, where those that had been stored in Tupperdors, and those that smoked well were from my Humidors tower. I'm not a paranoid fellow, but is there something to this? I'm blessed to have a full tower, which means I'm sometimes grabbing random singles from Tupperware.
Gizmo:In a perfect world, should I rotate everything into the tower for some period of time before smoking? What is the definitive lizard process for smoking from Tupperdors, resting versus aging, and when should I transfer my cigars to humidors? Thanks, Lizard Enrique. PS, can BAM explain what an outer body experience is, please?
Chef Ricky:You just know.
Pagoda:Say hello to her.
Bam Bam:Not tonight.
Gizmo:So what do guys think? Tupperdors versus towers. What's your experience with the cigars being flat, experiences with them being better out of a tower?
Senator:I mean, my experience is identical to that. I don't find that anything right immediately out of Tupperware smokes great. Only stuff out of my tower where there's been regular air movement is ready to smoke. So for me, when I pull something from my Tupperware, I put it in my tower for about two weeks and then it's got enough airflow, it's at exactly the right humidity, it's ready to smoke, but wouldn't pull anything out of Tupperware and expect it to right away smoke the way that you want it to.
Rooster:Probably best to keep your extra additional boxes of the same in your Tupperware and then rotate them into the tower as you're ready to smoke.
Senator:That's exactly what I do, yeah.
Pagoda:Why don't you suggest your little fan that you'd created for air circulation for the Tupperdors as well?
Gizmo:That was a lot of work.
Pagoda:So if every Tupperdors had it, then, you know, it might work.
Bam Bam:Giz, do you have both New World and Cubans in your tower?
Gizmo:I do. Yeah. So my I think like Senator
Bam Bam:and you as well. Yeah.
Gizmo:Yeah. So my my non Cubans are lower and my Cubans are higher in the in the in the tower generally because the cigar waste is at the bottom.
Bam Bam:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Gizmo:And naturally, the stuff at the top is just less humid than it is at the bottom. So I think it works out very well. I I have mine pretty calibrated at the bottom. I'm you know, where stuff is resting or whatever. A lot of new world is like 65% humidity at the top.
Gizmo:I'm 62. I think senators mentioned before his is identical. Yeah. I mean, my program that I run with my Tupperdors is I don't smoke anything out of my Tupperdors. Nothing.
Gizmo:If I want to bring something to smoke, I will pull it out of my Tupperware and I'll let it acclimate or rest in the tower with some airflow.
Bam Bam:That's what I do.
Gizmo:And you know, before I smoke it, I am never reaching into the Tupperware for anything to smoke immediately. Even like what I'll do, and we talked about it on the Monte Cristo episode, any of that Altata stuff that we're buying kind of refills on or even Padrons, I'll just rotate them. As I smoke five or 10, I'll reach in the Tupperdors, get more, put them in the tower, and then after a couple of weeks, they're ready to smoke and Oh, man down. Oh, that's a first. Rooster has ash all over him.
Chef Ricky:He's It's almost going like he knew it would happen. He wore gray pants.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Going for a world record there.
Rooster:I was trying. So, yeah,
Gizmo:I think that if you have the ability to not smoke out of your Tupperware, I think that's the way to go. And this is not just for folks who have towers. I think if you have a desktop humidor, that is the better place to quote unquote drybox your cigars before smoking. Let them get some air, let them come down in humidity if they're a little hotter in the Tupperdors, which is generally the case. You know, we've talked about it before.
Gizmo:You have a 65 in a sealed airtight Tupperware that's probably running closer to 68, 69%. Same with sixty two and fifty eight. So you just have to be conscious of that. But I think airflow is very good and you know, anybody can do this. You can even do it with, you know, a Tupperware, a smaller one, Drybox.
Gizmo:Just don't seal it all the way. Throw a boba in there. Let it get some air. So does anybody smoke out of Tupperware directly? I know Senator doesn't.
Gizmo:Nope. You don't. Do you ever rooster? Do you ever reach into Tupperware? No.
Gizmo:It's just for extra storage?
Rooster:Yeah. Just additional boxes.
Bam Bam:Yeah. But if there's something in a Tupperdors that I want, I'll take that box and put it in a tower for a week before I touch it.
Rooster:Yeah, you kind of have to.
Gizmo:This one is from our friend, The Cigar Surgeon. This is from a peer. You can check him out on Developing Pallets on YouTube. Remember we had a listener write in about strength versus body versus nicotine? Lizard John, the cigar surgeon, had some commentary on that.
Gizmo:So I want to share that with you now.
Lizard Surgeon:Lizards, it's nice to be writing in. I don't typically send voice memos intended for the panel. Usually it's just George and I going back and forth about industry information, but this is Lizards surgeon and I just wanted to pose sort of some feedback for the panel, maybe some conversation points. I just want to preface by saying you guys are amazing what you do. I'm a huge fan.
Lizard Surgeon:I've been a huge fan for many, many years. I think you do a great job of striding the world between Cuban and New World cigars. You do so in a very approachable and non pretentious way. I think you challenge some of the assertions in the industry in a really positive way and you support new smokers. Just like I said, I'm just a huge fan.
Lizard Surgeon:That being said, I do want to challenge something. Unfortunately, it's Senator mentioned when Lizard O wrote in about some of the terminology that's used in the cigar industry. In this case, it was the term body. Now I am not the authority on cigar terminology. I just want to talk about a little bit.
Lizard Surgeon:So when I use body and when I've been in conversations with people in the industry about cigar body, specifically what we're referring to is flavor, not strength, not nicotine. And I think for a lot of people, it's even more specific than that. I think typically when they say body, what they're talking about is the richness of the mouthfeel, the creaminess of the smoke and that sort of velvety texture on your palate. And typically the way that I draw parallels with wine, because when we talk about the body of wine, we're not talking about the ABV or the alcohol content. We're talking about the richness on the palate of those flavors.
Lizard Surgeon:So for me, again, my conversations have always been that body is a terminology that's specifically referring to the flavor and oftentimes the texture and intensity of that smoke. I mean, just to throw some other terms out here, maybe there's a great conversation to be had, but I think there's a lot of terms around cigars. Some of them get muddled. Flavor and complexity, obviously, can be very straightforward. We're just talking about flavor.
Lizard Surgeon:When we talk about complexity, we're talking about layers of depth to the flavor. Is it just basic wood or is there more to that wood? It sandalwood? Is there layers to that balance? Again, everyone on the panel has talked about it in the past.
Lizard Surgeon:You smoke a cigar, you get a blast of pepper upfront. That's not very balanced. If you get a cigar that's only wood, there's no other flavors. That's not necessarily balanced or complex body kind of already beat that dead horse strength again, nicotine strength. And I think one of the key things to point out here because I don't think it's discussed enough is that you can have a full bodied a full complex full flavored cigar that is not full strength.
Lizard Surgeon:Now it doesn't happen a lot, but it does absolutely happen. So, you know, I don't think that maybe that's where some of the confusion comes in is that people feel that they're interchangeable or they're forever connected and they're not. You can also have a full strength cigar that's not full bodied, not complex. There are cigars out there that are nicotine bombs and the flavor delivery is not at the same level. So that's an important note.
Lizard Surgeon:Obviously, aroma or you guys refer to it. I think it's a good term room note. So general room aromas you're getting off a cigar and then finish. So how that cigar lingers on your palate. Is it a clean finish?
Lizard Surgeon:Is it a dirty finish? Is there heavy palate finish? So hopefully I've stoked some conversation. My goal is definitely not to call out Senator. I don't want to be that guy standing on the sidelines throwing rocks.
Pagoda:Oh, you're in trouble.
Bam Bam:Throwing rock
Chef Ricky:too late, buddy.
Lizard Surgeon:Good points here for conversation. Thanks very much, Lizards. Appreciate you hearing me out.
Bam Bam:I like the email. Don't think there's any disagreement.
Gizmo:Think he honestly nailed through like even just going through all the terms, I think he nailed it.
Senator:We used it the exact same way and I'm not sure if there was some confusion. The point I was making that we all agreed to because we weren't debating it was that there is a difference between body and strength. Right? And so a a cigar that's got a ton of nicotine, that doesn't mean that it's full body necessarily. So everything he's saying we're 100% in alignment with.
Senator:I don't think there's any disagreement.
Chef Ricky:And maybe where he got confused, he also mentioned this, is that sometimes body and strength are in parallel, right? For the same reasons that I I tend to like higher proof spirits because oftentimes they provide a bit more body and complexity than spirits that aren't as high proof.
Rooster:Like this cigar is pretty full bodied,
Senator:The not on only other area that maybe was confusing how it was understood or interpreted is when we're saying that body is referring to flavor, we don't mean literally the flavored notes, we mean the richness of the flavor. So if something's got a lot of body, it's heavy in that delivery of flavor. It's rich, it lingers, it's there. If it's light in body, it's very fleeting in the flavor that's delivering. So again, we're all saying exactly the same thing, but hopefully that helps clarify.
Gizmo:And I like running through the terms because we kind of cherry pick as we're discussing what's interesting to us at the time. So, I mean, I thought the wine comparison was apropos. It's very on point for, I think, how you think about it, right? 100%. You know, what's funny, when I think about body, I wasn't thinking about it from a wine perspective.
Gizmo:You know, like the way that you would talk about body in wine versus a cigar. So let me ask you this. How would you describe this cigar using some of the terminology that Lizard Surgeon put in the voice memo? What would you say about the finish of this or the balance?
Rooster:I think it's a full bodied cigar. It's a very balanced cigar. It's a rich cigar, but not full strength.
Bam Bam:Agreed.
Senator:Agreed.
Gizmo:And I think it has a long finish.
Pagoda:Very nice finish.
Rooster:And it has a velvety mouth feel.
Bam Bam:Yeah, definitely.
Chef Ricky:Longers. All speaking to the body of the cigar.
Bam Bam:I'm shocked how good this is.
Senator:Yeah, same.
Bam Bam:I don't ever remember the cigar being so smooth and elegant. Me neither. It's right there.
Gizmo:So thanks to Lizard Surgeon, The Cigar Surgeon. Check them out on Developing Pallets. Great show. They do only blind reviews, so they have to often guess what the origin of the tobacco is. They do a great job with it sometimes and other times, like us, they have no idea what it is.
Gizmo:But check out their show on YouTube developing palates.
Chef Ricky:It's a fun listen.
Gizmo:Yeah. They're good dudes and they know their stuff. So again, thanks to him for tuning in and for sharing that with us. We really appreciate everybody who writes in. Let's go to another one now, boys.
Gizmo:This one is from our friend Lizard Tyler, also from Pittsburgh. So it's good day, Lizards. Before I get into my question, I need to follow-up on a lot of the discourse about how sloppy people seem to be comfortable dressing in public. I've heard a few writers say something about being financially independent and wearing what is, quote, unquote, authentic and comfortable. This seems to be a uniquely American problem.
Gizmo:You do not see people dressed in rags because it is comfortable in London, Paris, Berlin, etcetera. The list could go on. What has led us to being comfortable slobs and forcing others to look at that? I personally do not leave the house without a collar on of some kind, usually a polo and chinos. Just like Giz.
Gizmo:This epidemic, I knew that was coming. This epidemic, especially men, must end post haste. On to my question. Not really a cigar related topic, but what are the lizards watching or listening to right now? There are so many amazing shows on the unending multitude of streaming services.
Gizmo:What are you loving as far as entertainment now, and what is your favorite show, play, musical, movie of all time? I'm excited to hear about what the Lizards are interested in when they find some time to do that. Thanks as always for all of the entertainment laughs and for helping me on my cigar journey from someone who smokes cigars into a cigar smoker, Lizard Tyler from Pittsburgh. Nice. Great email.
Gizmo:Yeah. Yeah. Alright, let's talk first. I don't think you need to leave the house with a collar on. What?
Gizmo:To look good.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Left it I mean, I think a solid t shirt. Yeah.
Chef Ricky:Everyone here has worn a solid
Bam Bam:t shirt, and when they do, everyone here looks great.
Pagoda:By the way, one thing I've noticed this summer.
Bam Bam:Let me look around. What?
Pagoda:I've seen you in t shirt. This is the most I've ever, ever, ever seen you in t shirts.
Bam Bam:I know.
Pagoda:Is it because of the working out or now that your body is like
Gizmo:this inspired by me?
Bam Bam:I'm feeling yes.
Senator:Gizmo, fashionista. Correct.
Gizmo:Am feeling Global fashion insider, man.
Bam Bam:That's correct. I am feeling a bit trimmer, so I'm feeling more comfortable wearing T shirts.
Rooster:Ozempic is working,
Senator:Never.
Bam Bam:Not ever. I'm still two fifty pounds, but in proportion now.
Rooster:No, you don't look more than two forty eight.
Bam Bam:But I can tell you what has caused the breakdown of men's desire to look
Gizmo:Buckle up, boys.
Bam Bam:It's one thing. The flip flop. That flip flop.
Gizmo:You're out of your mind, dude.
Senator:No. The flip flop was recently invented.
Bam Bam:When a guy puts a flip flop on, he's like, Okay, I can wear anything. Just walk out of the house. It should be banned You're except for not wrong.
Chef Ricky:You're not gonna wear flip flops with a collar shirt. Well, I've seen guys do it. Actually, yeah. Could see like a tattered
Bam Bam:Throw my drink
Pagoda:at them, but, know.
Rooster:What about a Birkenstock with a closed foot? No
Chef Ricky:open neck. That's almost worse than a flip flop.
Bam Bam:Birkenstocks are awful. They should
Gizmo:be Are they like Jesus sandals? Is that a Birkenstock?
Rooster:Super comfortable. Jesus.
Bam Bam:I'm sure they are.
Gizmo:They're Crocs. Crocs are What about Crocs?
Chef Ricky:They're like grown up Crocs.
Bam Bam:No way.
Gizmo:No way.
Bam Bam:Once you're past the age of 12, Crocs are out.
Gizmo:You know what I think it is? Honestly, you know what? I think the downfall of people being comfortable wearing pajamas and stuff is I think kids now, I just. Yeah. Like you go to the mall, people are wearing pajamas.
Senator:Oh, yeah. The kids are. We were kids.
Lizard Surgeon:The kids go to school
Senator:in high school in pajamas.
Gizmo:That's true. I think it's the lack of, like, a dress code in schools. I think that is what has trained people to believe that that's acceptable leaving the house. They're getting that as kids, and then they just follow that into adulthood.
Bam Bam:You also see it on college campuses all the time.
Gizmo:Of course.
Rooster:Yeah. Like every day is pajama day.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. Yeah. College campuses are a little difficult because your living space is a bedroom essentially. You can make an effort. No, for sure.
Chef Ricky:I'm just saying I think that's where
Senator:I'm Does that mean you can't get dressed in the morning?
Chef Ricky:You walk in, you do your homework or on your mattress, on your bed there.
Rooster:It takes the same effort to put on a pajama or a pair of shorts or pants.
Chef Ricky:100% correct.
Bam Bam:Just make sure the shorts are Shorts to the To above the
Pagoda:the bar.
Gizmo:I think it's all about comfortability. I think that's why people do it. Yeah. You know? But I don't see you, senator, leave the house very often.
Gizmo:Sometimes you'll have a t shirt and a hat on.
Chef Ricky:Apparently, have to your cameras too, senator.
Gizmo:Correct. But most of the time, I feel like you have
Bam Bam:a collar on. Intimate moments.
Senator:Yeah. I would say 60 to 70%
Gizmo:of time. Like, almost every time you come to record, you have a button down on.
Senator:Well, that's in case we end up somewhere after.
Bam Bam:Correct. That's correct.
Gizmo:You're planning for the after party. Alright. So on to Lizard Tyler's question. What are the lizards watching or listening to right now? So out of all the shows, movies, etcetera, and all the multitude of streaming services, say, what are you watching?
Gizmo:And then we'll get to the second part of his question after that.
Chef Ricky:I'm watching Lioness. Lioness.
Senator:I started.
Bam Bam:I need to.
Senator:The new season just came out. I haven't started yet.
Rooster:Just mean the second or the third season?
Chef Ricky:The third. The season is out? The third season.
Gizmo:Just came out a few days ago.
Rooster:Yep. It's a great show. Oh, Great show.
Chef Ricky:That and silo. There's something about that that I enjoy. Silo. What is that on? Apple.
Chef Ricky:That's on Apple.
Rooster:TV. Yeah.
Gizmo:What's the one that you love with John Hammond that you've been watching?
Senator:Oh, no. That was Friends and Neighbors is great.
Rooster:Great show.
Senator:So I finished that. They're filming a new season. But I had recently started and watched through Dutton Ranch on Paramount. That was great.
Rooster:Was great.
Gizmo:Was that the Beth and Rip show?
Chef Ricky:That's right.
Senator:Good. I also started House of Dragon, which Oh, is the I'm out on that. Have you watched any
Pagoda:of that?
Gizmo:I can't do that. I can't do Game of Thrones. My ex wife used to love that shit. Can't do it.
Senator:Game of Thrones was a great show until they ruined the end. It's universally regarded as a top show. They obviously screwed up the ending. I people had told me like, oh, House of Dragons is good. I'm so scarred from how they messed up the end of Game of Thrones.
Senator:I'm like, there's no way I'm gonna watch it.
Chef Ricky:That's why I haven't.
Senator:Yeah. Now, I've been running out of TV, so I said, I'll give it a shot. It is very good. It it follows like the Targaryen family, which Daenerys, you know, the blonde that's in It's Game of her whole family, the dragons, all
Gizmo:that. Oh, she's in it?
Pagoda:No. Oh, bummed about Oh.
Senator:Her ancestors. I got
Gizmo:interested for about a minute. No.
Senator:But there's other Daenerys like characters that are blonde. Okay. It's it follows the whole line.
Gizmo:Okay.
Rooster:Did you say blonde? Yes.
Senator:Next Rooster's next question. And a raspy voice?
Pagoda:Almost. Who's dead? Gone to bed.
Gizmo:That's stupid, but it's hilarious. I know.
Senator:But that show, will say the first season is very good. After that, you can see the writing is getting sloppy just like with Game of Thrones, so I it it gets slow. I don't anticipate it's gonna end. I mean, I wanna see the the ending ultimately who kinda wins out, but the first season's at least worth watching. And then just on the sports side, there's a new documentary that just came out within the last few days on Netflix called Mourinho that's about Jose Mourinho for soccer football fans out there.
Senator:It's very good. He's one of my favorite people of all time
Gizmo:in that lunatic. Right?
Senator:He's a genius, but also, yeah, a lunatic. And it it just chronicles like his whole life and career, and it's fascinating. It's good. Mhmm.
Chef Ricky:What about what what do you listen to?
Senator:Yeah. Mean, for music
Pagoda:Open up, will you? On on Do you listen to Cher?
Senator:Just just asking. Cher is hard out. That's only a gizmo thing. It's on my playlist. Everyone else, 70 plus.
Senator:But, you know, on the on like a Sunday, like, always have jazz going. My dad and I have this fun thing where like every month he sends me a new jazz not new, but new to me jazz album that I should listen to, and we kinda trade notes. It's been a lot of fun. Yeah. It's really cool.
Gizmo:I like that actually. That's a cool bonding thing.
Senator:Yeah. Because the funny thing was, when I was growing up as a kid, every single Sunday in my house from the tiniest of ages, my dad had jazz going all Sunday afternoon. I hated it my whole childhood. I never understood it. And it took me until I hit my thirties to finally get into jazz in a serious way and appreciate it.
Senator:And then I started finding some stuff and sharing with him he hadn't heard. And then he had this idea of like, what if I send you an album every single month, you tell me what you think, and he'd kinda figured out the style of jazz I like, and it has opened my eyes to so much great music through that.
Gizmo:So what are some of the good ones you've gotten over the last couple months? What are your favorite or two?
Senator:I mean, Roy Hargrove, I'm obsessed with.
Gizmo:That's right, you've been sharing that with us.
Senator:Yeah, so I sent that to Giz. That guy died way too early. Was absolutely brilliant. The album this month I was listening to that's also very good. Hang on a second.
Senator:Dexter Gordon, his album Go. There's some good songs on there. So jazz, obviously, love Cuban jazz. We all listen to Buenavista Social Club, Tito Puente. Mean, all those guys a ton.
Senator:He's Puerto Rican. Well, he is, but I'm just saying in the in the style of Cuban jazz and salsa. The rest of them Puerto Rican in
Gizmo:the room.
Chef Ricky:Well, no. To that point, I love Eddie Palmieri. Know, he's
Senator:he's he's great. Legend.
Rooster:Yeah. Puerto Rico.
Senator:So all that. Obviously, you know, we're in the jazz. We listen to all kinds of stuff, like, you know, we've got rap, hip hop sometimes.
Bam Bam:Mhmm.
Senator:I mean, me, I listen to literally a little bit of everything. Think the only music that I don't appreciate is metal or anything like that. That's just too it doesn't fit my relaxing or just the vibe I'm looking for.
Bam Bam:That's cool.
Senator:That's just not my thing. But country, even occasionally, I'll listen to. There's almost no genre that I dislike except, as I mentioned, just metal is
Gizmo:He pointed at me, by the way, he
Pagoda:said that.
Senator:Too intense. So let's hold
Gizmo:on this, boys. We are coming to the end of the second third on the Arturo Fuente, Anejo Reserva, extra Viejo, limited number 77, the Shark, and, of course, the El Dorado 12 years aged Guyanese rum. What's everybody thinking on the pairing,
Chef Ricky:the cigar, the drink as we enter the last third here? Pairing is phenomenal. That rum is dangerous. And the cigar, delicious.
Rooster:I'm just very pleasantly surprised with this cigar. I did not have good expectations. You know, I wasn't sure how the cigar would go, but this is an absolutely delicious cigar worth pursuing.
Pagoda:You know what I'm impressed, sir? You've been smoked slower than usual.
Bam Bam:That's true.
Senator:It's the Ozempic. To deliver. Senator. Just had to preempt
Bam Bam:it. Outrageous.
Rooster:I think it's Bagoi.
Bam Bam:Don't be jealous.
Rooster:So what I mean, this cigar is absolutely delicious. And what's the count on the like, what does it come in?
Gizmo:So what's interesting is so this cigar comes in boxes of 20, if you could find them. Most of the time, you're only gonna find them as singles. The entire rest of the Anejo line comes in boxes of 25, except the eight eight eight comes in boxes of 24, which is weird. Strange. So one this one comes in boxes of 20.
Gizmo:The eight eight eight comes in boxes of 24. The other seven come in boxes of 25. So a box of this right now, you're gonna find for about $450.
Rooster:K. So I can buy 20 singles. There you go.
Pagoda:One at a time. I
Senator:think the thing I'm enjoying most is it it just gets better and better.
Gizmo:Yeah. I I can't believe it, man.
Senator:I've That's been waiting to kinda hit a wall, or it's gonna start to fall off in flavor or get harsh, and it hasn't done that. Nope. It's maintained the best notes throughout. It's it's gotten richer in the final third. It I I feel like early on, it was on the drier side in the first third.
Senator:It got very sweet and dessert like in the second third, and now it's going back to the drier side, but there's still some of that sweetness that's carrying through, which I really like. I hate when I'm enjoying sweetness midway through, and then it is completely gone in the final third. It's still there just enough, so I'm very happy with where this is.
Rooster:You know, we talked about the burnt sugar note, the caramel. That is still That coming
Bam Bam:hasn't ever left me.
Senator:Yeah. And that forever is the defining note in this cigar.
Chef Ricky:Because if
Senator:you would have asked me one note that I remember from six, seven years ago, it's exactly that.
Gizmo:Yeah. And I also can't believe how well it's pairing with this rum.
Bam Bam:It's perfect.
Gizmo:I mean, the molasses brown sugar thing, the coffee, it really is working with this Yeah. Brilliantly.
Bam Bam:Perfect. Yeah.
Gizmo:Yeah. It's shocking. And honestly, like you said, I came in not expecting any of this goodness in the cigar, not knowing what the rum would do. Thankfully, it's been a home run.
Senator:Oh,
Rooster:yeah. You were talking about you were kind of comparing this to a Cuban cigar. Like there were some notes that were similar.
Bam Bam:Not notes. Or The experience
Rooster:Which was cigar would you compare this to?
Bam Bam:It wasn't Is
Rooster:it a part of this Maduro?
Gizmo:Are you just saying, like, how this Cuban cigar makes you feel?
Chef Ricky:No. When he said that, the Maduro line is what popped into
Gizmo:my Yeah. That's what I
Senator:was thinking. Ben wasn't saying flavor.
Bam Bam:I would like to talk.
Gizmo:Go ahead.
Pagoda:Permission granted. Alright.
Rooster:You may speak.
Bam Bam:There's no particular note, but it's the experience.
Rooster:Alright, that's enough.
Chef Ricky:That's cruel.
Senator:I almost spit my chicken out. That hurt, man.
Gizmo:Okay. We're good. You going to Mubupon?
Pagoda:Has Rooster been drinking the other day?
Bam Bam:He's siphoning it off from
Pagoda:his glass over there.
Rooster:I've been drinking since 1670, apparently. That's correct.
Pagoda:Because I helped make it.
Gizmo:So continue your thought there, Bem.
Bam Bam:Yeah, that's really it. It's the experience. It's very reminiscent of, I like the way Senator put it, it's really a hybrid experience between the New World and the Cuban for me. And it's still giving me that experience now, although it is getting a bit deeper and fuller now, which is moving away from that Cuban experience, but it's still there, that creaminess, the velvetiness. And for me, because that brown sugar continued and there's still a little bit of that walnut for me, so there's a little earthiness and the sweetness, that experience is reminiscent to what I get in a lot of
Gizmo:Cubans.
Rooster:There is not a single Not harsh the
Bam Bam:notes, but the experience.
Rooster:I mean, there's absolutely nothing harsh
Bam Bam:about No hard hard edges. It's perfect.
Rooster:It's great.
Gizmo:Yeah. I find like the brown sugar thing for me now, it's almost like moving from a sweetness to almost like a burnt brown sugar.
Pagoda:Yeah.
Gizmo:It's like not a sweet brown sugar, it's quite a Caramelized. That's exactly it.
Senator:Caramelized. It's heavily, heavily caramelized
Gizmo:right now. But it's subtle. It's almost like the top of a creme brulee. That's exactly how I
Bam Bam:would describe it. Exactly right.
Gizmo:And I'm happy about it. I actually think it's added another layer of dynamic to the flavor profile. Oh yeah. And I think it's kept it interesting
Bam Bam:throughout.
Gizmo:Alright. So going back to Lizard Tyler's email, Senator obviously gave us some great examples of what he's watching and listening to. What's everybody else watching and listening to? I was
Rooster:just watching a show. It's called Westies. It's on MGM, I believe, but I was watching it through What's MGM?
Chef Ricky:I was gonna say, who the fuck has an MGM subscription? The casino app. Right?
Pagoda:It's through
Bam Bam:Are you gambling again?
Gizmo:How many scams are you running right now? It's actually through the box that you got.
Pagoda:It's a
Rooster:great show. It's it's actually a show about the beginning of the Irish mob and the Italian mob. They were building the Jacob Javits Center in the city. Pretty
Bam Bam:cool. Interesting.
Pagoda:You do have a lot of time.
Bam Bam:You know, I haven't had a chance to watch a lot of TV. So all the shows that you're describing, I wish I had the opportunity to watch them. I haven't had interest to sit in front of the TV very often. I just started doing a treadmill a couple of months ago early in the morning. So I'm going into Netflix, and I'm looking around at a lot of the shows that you've mentioned, but I'm watching something now.
Bam Bam:It's an older show. You're gonna laugh.
Gizmo:Honeymooners? No. Golden Girls? No.
Chef Ricky:That's why I laid so long.
Bam Bam:But I absolutely love it. I'm watching I'm going through Better Call Saul.
Gizmo:Oh, it's a good show.
Bam Bam:For the first time.
Chef Ricky:Oh, It's good show.
Gizmo:It's not that old. No. Was on
Pagoda:ten Ten years old.
Bam Bam:Something like that. And it's super entertaining. It's hilarious. I love it. Music wise, I'm still on the Rush train right now.
Gizmo:Me too,
Bam Bam:man. Since that concert. I'm all over that right now.
Rooster:So let me ask you a question. Is there any series that you guys have watched it multiple times or at least twice?
Gizmo:Sopranos, Breaking Bad, The Breaking Bad
Rooster:for me.
Bam Bam:Was breaking
Gizmo:bad,
Chef Ricky:The Wire. Wire. Or attention span.
Bam Bam:I also just finished Peaky Blinders.
Gizmo:I hate that show. Really? Yeah, I can't stand it. I thought Killian Murphy is so vanilla boring. He's uninteresting to me.
Bam Bam:You know what's interesting to me? The storyline about that, the survival instinct and the resilience to continue regardless of what's fucking happening, and there's a lot happening, to pursue success at any cost.
Senator:You know the show though that you turned me on to, Bam? And there's a new season coming. It's not out yet. What's the show with Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren?
Bam Bam:Oh, that is so hilarious. Oh, that's the
Rooster:The British the British show.
Bam Bam:Don't remember the
Rooster:name of
Senator:it. That is It's not Mobland, is
Chef Ricky:it? It is. It
Pagoda:It is.
Senator:It is. Mobland.
Chef Ricky:Excellent show. Great show.
Pagoda:What's that play going?
Rooster:That'd be Amazon.
Gizmo:It's on the Caesars app. The Caesars gamble down.
Chef Ricky:I think that is Amazon or Paramount. It's on the same platform.
Senator:It's same as Mare.
Rooster:I think it's Amazon.
Chef Ricky:Mare of Kingston.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Great job.
Chef Ricky:That's also
Pagoda:a good one.
Rooster:You would like Held Maren.
Gizmo:Yeah. Kiss. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks.
Gizmo:Thanks, Rooster. Wow.
Pagoda:That is
Gizmo:Is that nice, Bam?
Bam Bam:I don't think that's nice at all.
Senator:I mean, it's not nice, but it's it's probably true.
Bam Bam:She's an excellent actress, ma'am.
Rooster:That's what I meant, that he would like her acting. Okay.
Gizmo:The most Of course. The most recent series that I've watched that I've enjoyed, and I turned senator onto it, was an HBO show that I don't understand after, I think, four seasons isn't talked about more here in The States. It's a British show. It's called Industry. Yeah.
Gizmo:That's probably the most
Senator:I watched that before you, Giz. I saw it when it was first like
Gizmo:No. But you stopped. Remember I told you to get back on it? And you watched the end of it.
Bam Bam:I watched one very bam bam appropriate episode on that show.
Senator:Oh, correct. I did stop. Because it does have a rough patch.
Gizmo:There there is a minute where it goes down.
Bam Bam:But there's one show, one episode. It's unforgettable. It is left an imprint. I it's it's unforgettable. Alright.
Bam Bam:I'm subscribing to the HBO now. No. That just that episode.
Rooster:Alright. Do you guys watch severance? Did any of you get into that? No. I I tried.
Rooster:I I tried too, but I gave, like, after a second or third episode.
Senator:I don't get why that's popular.
Rooster:Yeah. It was very claustrophobic almost.
Gizmo:The other one I can't get into, is it Pluribus? Is that what it's called?
Rooster:Pluribus wasn't bad.
Gizmo:Where there's like an alien invasion and only a few people survive, I'm out.
Chef Ricky:Completely out.
Gizmo:I watched two episodes. Thought it was actually from the guy who created Breaking Bad. Mhmm. Vince Gilligan. He also created The X Files.
Gizmo:Oh, cool. But I
Bam Bam:used to love that show.
Gizmo:Yeah. X Files is great. And the other show that I I so I like to watch old stuff, like, on repeat.
Bam Bam:Me too.
Gizmo:So, like, I'll just put on, like, Law and Order, the original, like, from 1992.
Bam Bam:I was
Senator:gonna Sonny
Gizmo:and I love those. Sonny and Cher, I watch a lot.
Senator:Was never
Bam Bam:into the Law and Order.
Chef Ricky:The only show I do that with is Seinfeld.
Pagoda:Yes, I watch a lot of that.
Chef Ricky:Yeah, I do watch Seinfeld over and over again, mostly because of my wife. That's what she falls asleep to. That's like her white noise. And then I have a hard time falling asleep. So I end up watching an episode and I'm like, oh, this is funny.
Chef Ricky:You know?
Gizmo:So do you guys
Rooster:you have a TV in the bedroom?
Pagoda:I do.
Gizmo:I don't. I don't.
Senator:Okay. So funny thing. This has been like such a throwback to my like younger years. So I in my twenties had a TV in my bedroom probably after my like late twenties. I said like no TV in the bedroom.
Senator:I went probably seven years like this and I put one back in. Oh, it's so great. I'll never take it away.
Chef Ricky:When you have young kids, you need it because sometimes I just need to lock myself in the bedroom. Yeah. Get away from everybody and get away and
Senator:Oh, it's even helped like with my kid. Like when my kid is up at some ridiculously early hour and he just won't go back to sleep, I can put on Paw Patrol or something in my bedroom and doze off for another thirty minutes and then be ready to go. It's great.
Bam Bam:Paw Patrol. Paw Patrol.
Senator:He knows this shit.
Pagoda:How do
Gizmo:you know this? You're older kids.
Bam Bam:My kids love that show. It's on repeat. Everybody's gets love.
Gizmo:Pagoda, what else do you watch other than Seinfeld?
Pagoda:I haven't been watching a lot of TV at night. Like, I don't know, Seinfeld mostly. Yeah. You know, it's like when I want something light, you know, just speak Any to some pleasant
Rooster:Guyanese shows? I
Pagoda:don't know. I'm sorry. I wasn't there three hundred years ago, by the
Gizmo:Yeah, don't watch a lot of TV. I watch movies on repeat. I actually watched the first time, can't believe I'm embarrassed to say it, I watched for the first time Dog Day Afternoon, Al The twist in that is crazy.
Bam Bam:Yeah, good movie.
Gizmo:That was amazing. I think that might be his best performance ever. But as far as TV, that's pretty much all I watch. I don't watch much stuff, as it's coming out unless somebody really recommends it and I fall in love with it. But I have a short attention span.
Gizmo:I fall off quick.
Senator:I mean, you're a big industry guy.
Gizmo:That's an outlier. That was one I
Chef Ricky:It's because of that one episode.
Gizmo:No, that was a nice treat in the middle, but Unreal. As far as music, I'm more of a music guy, I think, than TV or movies, but I've been on a big rush kick, obviously, like you said. Yeah. Summer is a big Grateful Dead period for me. There's a new app called Play Dead that I think is great.
Gizmo:They're putting out Every week they put out two shows remastered from the archives. Obviously, I think the Grateful Dead or, you know, especially Bob Weir, probably the most recorded person in human history. Like, everything he did for sixty years was on record.
Bam Bam:It's incredible.
Rooster:Which is pretty crazy. How many times have you dropped acid? Zero.
Gizmo:Really? You're a deadhead? Never. Wow. Not one time.
Pagoda:They call them deadheads? You realize you
Senator:could have asked him the same question.
Pagoda:Oh, yeah.
Gizmo:I'm getting there. I'm getting there.
Bam Bam:It's a long dissertation of acid.
Gizmo:How many times have you done acid?
Senator:Never. I'm not a deadhead. Yeah. Alright.
Chef Ricky:It's like every Tuesday morning.
Pagoda:He's tripping now. Then what are talking about?
Gizmo:Alright. So we gotta go back to Lizard Tyler's email. One more question from him. What is your favorite show, play, musical, or movie of all time?
Bam Bam:That's too hard to answer. All time. Geez. Not
Gizmo:possible. Show, play, or movie or musical? SoundOfMusic. SoundOfMusic?
Bam Bam:Alright. That's
Gizmo:rough. A of great movies. I have a movie that is nostalgia for me. It's probably my favorite movie ever, but it's not like the best movie ever. But the movie Air Force One with Harrison Ford from 1997.
Bam Bam:That's good.
Gizmo:I may have seen that 500 times.
Pagoda:Yeah.
Gizmo:I love that movie.
Bam Bam:Clear and Present Dangerous, great.
Senator:That's a great movie. Have similar nostalgia with two movies.
Gizmo:It's not like the best movie ever, but it's I'm obsessed
Senator:with I've seen it a zillion times. Honestly, Ocean's 11 is one of them. I've seen it easily probably 15 That's great. I can tell you every song that's gonna play at every moment and even recite the lines. And just for a nostalgic comedy, like Wedding Crashers
Chef Ricky:Oh, yeah. Yeah. We've watched
Senator:it like it's Is she still here? Still in the house?
Bam Bam:I need some meatloaf.
Rooster:The National Lampoon's Christmas. Yes.
Chef Ricky:Of course. Christmas movies. I mean, Home Alone two.
Gizmo:Yep. Home Alone one. You know what's another one that's like when I when I see it on TV, I don't know why, but I stop every time, is the movie with Mark Wahlberg called Shooter.
Senator:Yeah. It comes off from It's
Gizmo:a great movie. And it's also like, I put the Born movies in that category too.
Pagoda:Yeah, Born. I love
Gizmo:Born I love Born
Senator:Don't get us started.
Gizmo:I love the
Pagoda:Born Yeah, because movies when you put that on, I'm just, I just get, why? What's You don't like him at all?
Senator:He's obsessed with these boring looks. I love boring. Me too. Like, in an unhealthy level.
Pagoda:I'm obsessed with Same here.
Gizmo:I watch all of them. Every single one.
Pagoda:By the way, every time it's on TV, one of those things, I
Gizmo:just sit
Pagoda:down, and I just stop it.
Rooster:Well, basically everything Guest does is at an unhealthy level. Right?
Gizmo:The concerts, the podcast, Well, the thanks to our friend Lizard Tyler for that great question and prompting that great discussion. Anybody else have a favorite that they wanna share before I move on? Godfather. Yeah, That's good one.
Bam Bam:It's good one.
Pagoda:I like the John Wex.
Chef Ricky:John Wex are great,
Gizmo:yeah. I don't think I've seen all the John Wicks.
Bam Bam:Never have never gotten
Senator:to I
Gizmo:like The Matrix, but he's not, like, believable to me in any other role. Totally agree. He's neo and nothing else. Like, he's totally typecast. It's like the guy who played Frodo.
Gizmo:Yeah. I forget Elijah Wood. Anytime I see him in anything else, it's like it takes me out of it because he's Frodo.
Bam Bam:Yeah. It's true.
Gizmo:You know, from Lord of the Rings. But, again, thanks to Lizard Tyler for writing in. We really appreciate him. And let's go now to our lizard of the week presented by our friends at Bond Roberts. And our lizard of the week this week is Lizard Grimm, a friend of ours who's written in before, and he's going to win a 10 count box of cigars from our friends at Bond Roberts.
Gizmo:We really appreciate those guys presenting our lizard of the week segment every week, and here's a voice memo from Lizard Grimm.
Lizard Grem:Hey, guys. Lizard Grimm here. I've been making my way through a lot of your episodes, and one thing I've noticed is how often y'all talk about planning out an evening of cigars. Y'all start with a cigar, have something different for the second and third, and then maybe finish the night with something more special. I've heard Rooster mention ending the night with a Padron Exclusivo more than a few times.
Lizard Grem:That got me wondering, do y'all ever plan your entire week's smokes instead of just an evening? I work a pretty standard Monday through Friday schedule, and lately I've found myself thinking about my whole week's lineup. Monday through Thursday are usually my everyday go to cigars. Then as Friday rolls around, I'll reach for something a little more celebratory to mark the end of the work week. On weekends, I'll often plan a morning cigar and a midday cigar.
Lizard Grem:Morning cigar lately has been my Tatuaje sex tooth and holiday vitola. Fantastic little cigar, easy on the wallet. Doesn't have quite the pepper and spice that a lot of the Tata Wahes are known for. It goes wonderful with coffee, more of a cream and cashew nuance. As Sunday rolls around, I find myself reaching for some of my better cigars.
Lizard Grem:In fact, my last cigar on Sunday night has become kind of a ritual. I'll pick something special, saddle into my porch, and spend an hour or more thinking about the week ahead. It actually helps me take the edge off those Sunday evening jitters and eases me into the new work week.
Gizmo:The Sunday scaries, man.
Pagoda:It's a great So
Lizard Grem:curious, do you all ever think about your cigars on more of a weekly basis? Do you save certain cigars for milestones through the week, or maybe light up something special before tackling a big project instead of only celebrating after it's over? Thanks, guys. Really enjoy the podcast. Keep doing what y'all do.
Gizmo:So thanks to Lizard Grimm for that great
Bam Bam:voice memo.
Gizmo:Great voice memo, and congratulations again to him for winning Lizard of the Week, winning a 10 count box of cigars from Bon Roberts. Great question from him. So, you know, we've talked about rotations. We've talked about setting up our sit. Have you guys ever thought about your week, like planning out your week of cigars or a weekend?
Gizmo:Anything like he said here. What do you guys think of that?
Chef Ricky:It's tough for me. I never know where my week's going to take me. I try to carve out that one day a week for the podcast and keep that consistent. And as you guys know, that's difficult. But no, it's hard for me to do the entire week to think that far.
Rooster:Yeah, it's usually not for the whole week unless I'm on vacation and you need to plan out the entire week.
Gizmo:That's a
Senator:good call.
Rooster:Then you're going to take whatever cigars that you're going to smoke and usually take extras because
Gizmo:Yeah, try to take like 50% more than I think I'm gonna smoke, so I have some variety and choice.
Rooster:That's probably the only time that I plan out an entire week. Otherwise, just daily. But sometimes you pull out cigars and I have a tray and I'll put them in there. This is what I kind of want to smoke this week. But I'm not really planning out what I'm going to smoke each day.
Rooster:Varies. It depends on your mood and weather.
Senator:Mean, I could predict the future, I would plan out what I'm going to smoke every week, but cigars for me reflect my mood. Like someday I land a client I've been pursuing for a while. I can't predict what day that's going happen, and then I say, Oh, I want something more celebratory. I've had a rough day. I certainly don't go into a day planning to have a rough day, and there's a certain cigar that I know is what I want in that moment.
Senator:So for me, it's very much a feeling, and every day, just based on what's happening, how I'm feeling, dictates what I'm going to reach for. So for me, it's a day at a time. I could never do an entire week's worth of planning.
Bam Bam:Yeah, agreed.
Gizmo:So for me, the only time I think about smoking something in, you know, a couple of days ahead is if I'll you know, I'll look at my my tray of New Worlds and I'll see a Padron eightieth. And I'll think, you know what? I want to smoke that on Sunday because we're going to have a big family dinner. And I'm not going to smoke that tonight because I want to wait until I have the big family dinner. It'll be a great day.
Gizmo:I'll smoke that at the end of it, so I'll have an exclusive tonight. So sometimes my only kind of planning ahead really is if there's a holiday, right? So Christmas, New Year's
Bam Bam:That's different.
Gizmo:Birthday, something like that, you're kind of planning ahead for. Cornerstone. Or an anniversary, whatever it may be of some kind. But aside from that, it's really only looking ahead to say, oh, I don't want to smoke that now because I'm going to smoke one in a couple of days. But I'm really kind of looking at my tower as I'm standing there for the evening and kind of just lining up what I'm going to smoke that night.
Gizmo:It is what it is. And then of course that informs what comes after because sometimes I crave different things. You know, the other day I smoked a Pedron ninetieth.
Rooster:What?
Gizmo:You know,
Rooster:had a
Gizmo:I had a great workday. Great workday. Big, you know, big work. I didn't even know you had those. I do.
Gizmo:I have a couple. And I pulled it out. It was a yellow cello. It must be five, seven years old that I've had it, and it was phenomenal. I was expecting it to kick my ass.
Gizmo:No photo.
Bam Bam:That's also correct. Did
Gizmo:I send a photo?
Senator:No. You definitely didn't. Suspecting.
Gizmo:Suspecting. I must've been watching Jason Bourne. Correct.
Pagoda:Hey, by the way, was it full bodied? No, I'm
Gizmo:just kidding. Oh, it was definitely full bodied. It was full everything. It was big on everything. But you know what, it didn't kick my ass, and I was wondering maybe the time,
Rooster:It's a myth.
Gizmo:Benefited that. Man, it was really good. Full flavor, it was excellent.
Rooster:Let me ask you something. On your Vigilant, if there was one thing that you could tell them or advise them to make something better, what would that be? And I have an idea. For me, I wish that trays would pull out.
Senator:Great answer, guys.
Bam Bam:Ask the question and then answer it.
Gizmo:Mean, that's my He didn't give me permission to talk. That's correct.
Rooster:I mean, what would you change?
Gizmo:No. I you know what? I don't need the rolling drawers. I I think that is an option on Vigilant, by the way. I think you can get them if you want.
Rooster:You didn't tell me about it.
Gizmo:You ordered yours before me. No. You ordered first. I don't remember. I think that is an option.
Gizmo:But the only thing I would say is I would love some sort of, you know, I would like I love what Chef Ricky's has, which is the newer version of what you three have, Senator Bam and Pagoda. I love that there's a power plug in the bottom so you don't have to create a kind of an air, a place for air to get in or out.
Bam Bam:Don't have the power cord.
Gizmo:You don't have to seal it. What
Senator:does that have to do with your vigilant?
Gizmo:Well that's in my vigilant. I wish that it didn't have that as far as an improvement goes, but Sorry, so you're saying
Senator:you had to seal yours?
Gizmo:Yeah, so there isn't a power like plug built into it. Got it. Had to run the cigar oasis. Got I had to run the cigar oasis out. I wish it was closer to
Chef Ricky:You wish there was an outlet where Exactly. There
Gizmo:Exactly. But everything else about it, I love
Rooster:The the rolling rolling drawers or trays would be ideal because you can see what's behind it instead of moving the boxes out of the way because you kind of forget what's back there. But I
Gizmo:think that's almost a good thing though sometimes. Sometimes I'll go digging and I'll pull stuff out and it's like, oh, that's right, I have that.
Chef Ricky:It just means you have too many cigars.
Pagoda:Yeah, professor, rooster. Send some over. You I can always help you with those.
Rooster:All the cigars in the back. What? By putting wheels on the drawers?
Pagoda:No. Just come and help you pick them up.
Senator:Oh, okay. The good one will bring his tool belt.
Pagoda:He's probably lying in my place.
Gizmo:Pogoda, how do you plan on your week?
Pagoda:I don't plan on a week at all. Please.
Senator:The only thing he plans is which case he's gonna lose.
Pagoda:He's gonna lose. I don't even know. Like, the only thing I can say is, like, in the morning, I know what cigar I'm going for. Either it's with my coffee. It's usually
Rooster:five of the same.
Pagoda:The Trinity Rubisto. Yeah. No, it's just Trinity Rubisto or the Bella Cosa. That's it. You know?
Bam Bam:I'm gonna
Pagoda:have a quick, That's the only thing I know. Rest all it's all over the place.
Gizmo:But you know what? I respect Lizard Grimm. You know, the way he approaches it, I totally understand that, but I think that that's a lifestyle thing.
Bam Bam:Yeah.
Gizmo:You know, I think that in the room here, we're talking about our lifestyles don't work for that, but obviously his and I'm sure other lizards out there, of course, lizards saying that we're crazy for even thinking about the way that we slot things, rotate things and everything else. Like, I get why it works for him.
Chef Ricky:I do love the idea of the Sunday smoke. You know, I don't always get a cigar in on a Sunday evening, but I love that idea of just doing that and kind of planning out your week and getting those Sunday jitters out.
Gizmo:So thanks again to Lizard Grimm for writing in, and he's winning lizard of the week for that great voice memo. And, of course, to all the other lizards who contribute to the program, please keep them coming. You can win lizard of the week. Get yourself a box of Ron Roberts cigars. And, boys, we've come to the end of our evening now with the Arturo Fuente Anejo Reserva Extra Viejo Limited, number 77, the Shark, and the El Dorado 12 years aged rum.
Gizmo:Any final thoughts on the pairing before we get into the ratings? And don't forget to send your ratings over to me. I am very, very happy with the cigar, with the rum, with the pairing. I'm really curious how the ratings are going go tonight, but I'm really, really thrilled with everything tonight. Can't believe it.
Gizmo:Honestly, I can't believe it.
Bam Bam:No, same.
Gizmo:I totally came in thinking that the cigar was going be in the sevenths. Agreed. And I don't think that's going to happen. Yeah. You know?
Gizmo:Alright, boys. It's time now to move into the formal liquor rating tonight on the El Dorado twelve years aged rum. Bam. Bam. You're up.
Bam Bam:Yeah. You know, as I noted earlier, this is so unique, flavorful, extremely long finish. It's related to the abuelo from the point of view of the the the flavor, but this for me is much more sophisticated. It's a touchless sweet and has an enormous amount of vanilla and butterscotch on this. I don't have a single problem with this.
Bam Bam:I think I want a bottle or two or three of these. This is an easy one for me. I'm at a very, very strong 10.
Chef Ricky:All right, chef. I have nothing bad or constructive in Or constructive? No, I mean in terms of improvement.
Gizmo:See you tomorrow, bro.
Chef Ricky:To say about this rum. This rum is absolutely delicious. It delivers a ton of flavor. Delivers, you know, the coffee note for me is something that I haven't really had in rums and the way it's presented here, it's done in a very beautiful manner. I mean, I really enjoy the age here, the yolkiness.
Chef Ricky:I love the butterscotch. I love the coffee notes. I love the light vanilla.
Bam Bam:Almost a salted butter. Yeah. Sweet salted butter.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. It's super creamy. The body on this is great. It dances on your palate and it pairs beautifully with the cigar. So for me, it's a 10.
Pagoda:Alright, Pagoda. It's a nine for me. You know, actually I've had this a couple of times before. Lizards Shah loves this rum. And there's another lizard, I golfed with him, Lizard Sanchez.
Pagoda:And he kind of, you know, every time when we go golfing, he'll always bring it up in like a little thing. It's really interesting. So I've rated it as a nine. I think the really interesting thing is I really, really do really like this rum. I somewhere along the line, I know that every time I've had it, but there's been either in Abuelo or even flodeconia, I've always gravitated towards those.
Pagoda:I don't know. It's one of those rums which is very fairly priced, firstly. It is excellent. It's less sweet. So, you know, you would think that I would really gravitate towards it, but I for some reason, I think I would still opt for an abuelo in front of this.
Pagoda:So I think I'm seeking something slightly sweeter. But having said that, there's, you know, nine is a very very strong score. It's a nine for me.
Gizmo:So it's also a nine for me. It wasn't a perfect rum for me, I thought it was excellent. I'm not gonna reach for this over most of the other things that we drink regularly. I don't think it's gonna take over a slot from a Florida Cana or any of those others that we love.
Bam Bam:Really? I'm shocked.
Gizmo:Wow. You know, and also, I'm not a big Abuelo guy, and I know that this is a parallel to that. I think the steps above Abuelo
Senator:Don't talk about rooster like that, man. Come on.
Gizmo:But I mean, really, really good. The price is great at $37, but for me it's a nine. Senator?
Senator:So I'm also at a nine, but I very much understand the tens. And I say that because I was debating back and forth, and there's not Same here,
Pagoda:by the way.
Senator:Yeah. I mean, there's not a lot to find wrong. Like when Chef said, I don't know what I can say that's constructive. I was struggling with that because my feeling was No, a I think it perfectly summed up even the dilemma I was having. My feeling was a nine, but I was struggling to articulate why not a 10.
Senator:And I think the commentary around I still will gravitate more toward Abuelo or Florida Cana over this, but it's so excellent. And like, will I will this make it into my rotation not as often? Yes. Like, would I absolutely pick up a bottle of this? No question.
Senator:It's so smooth and has complexity to it. Like, there's a lot to like.
Chef Ricky:Is it because Abuelo's a little easier
Pagoda:It's little sweeter, I mean,
Senator:to drink. I I now I I have figured out
Pagoda:why to figure out exactly the same thing.
Senator:Yeah. So here's the thing, this is a twelve year. This is not a seven like a Abuelo or Havana seven. And what I compare this to is like Florida Cana 12. Florida Cana 12 is really rich and viscous.
Senator:And when I want like a higher aid statement rum, that's what I'm looking for. This actually in the glass is not particularly viscous.
Gizmo:No, it's
Chef Ricky:a little thin.
Senator:It's a little thin for a twelve year. Just look at when you move it. I mean, any of the spirit like kinda sticks to
Gizmo:the And
Senator:so even a abuelo at seven years, I actually think is more viscous and has some more legs than this does. So that for me, like, the complexity of flavor is absolutely there. It's smooth. It's refined. It just doesn't have the legs and the viscosity that a florida cana 12, which like is its direct, you know, analog, or even I think a Abuelo seven, that's the only reason.
Senator:And then you factor in like, this is a higher price point than Abuelo seven as it should be at twelve years, but I still prefer it a bit to this. So that's the only reason it wasn't perfect in my eyes, but that takes nothing away from. This is an outstanding rum. I'm interested to try more in their line, and I'm really glad we did it. And the other thing I'll say, it's super versatile.
Senator:I mean, there's almost no cigar that I wouldn't drink this with.
Bam Bam:That's correct.
Senator:That I wouldn't smoke this with. So I think from that standpoint, it also deserves a ton of credit for why we pursue a rum to really pair well with cigars. So I'm as strong of a nine as exists because I really went back and forth on a nine or a 10, and I'm I'm glad this paired so well with the cigar.
Gizmo:So boys, the former liquor rating tonight on the Eldorado twelve years aged rum is a 9.4. Nice. That's a great rating for this.
Senator:Very good job.
Pagoda:Great rating. No. I you know, like, I'll tell you, I was going back back and forth between ten and nine.
Gizmo:It's Honestly, think a 94 is perfect.
Pagoda:But you know, I you know what? It's it's really interesting because we've had it at the lounge. He's brought El Dorado at the lounge, and I've still gravitated towards Abuelo. And I can't explain why.
Senator:Like, I But but the funny thing is you actually did because the other reason, and I forgot to mention this, I just took a sip, and the finish is what got it. And you said this. You said, I feel like maybe I just prefer a bit more sweetness that you get in abuelo. And the funny thing here on the front of your palate, when you initially take a sip, you get a lot of that rum sweetness. On the finish, it actually finishes dry.
Senator:Not super dry, but drier. I kinda like that. And was just gonna say
Chef Ricky:I think that's why I really like
Rooster:it. Totally.
Senator:And that's why I fully understand the tense. You'll never hear me say, I like, can't see the
Rooster:house again.
Bam Bam:Wanna try the floridocana 12. I've had it not as often as you guys. I don't remember really like I liked it.
Gizmo:Did we review that?
Senator:No. I thought we did. I feel like we did. No. Did.
Senator:Did. Did we? I'm almost positive we
Bam Bam:did. I don't remember. But I don't know. I gotta revisit that one.
Senator:That's richer than this is. The Florida 12.
Gizmo:So we rated the Florida Cana 12 on episode one hundred and thirty five and ninety seven. That clips us a little bit.
Chef Ricky:Yep. So that tracks.
Gizmo:Yep. Yeah. All right, boys. It's time now to move into the former lizard rating tonight on the Arturo Fuente on Yejo Reserva Extra Viejo Limited, number 77. The Shark, Rooster, you're up.
Rooster:I can't take any points off the cigar. I mean, this cigar was to me, it's perfect. It compares to the eye of the shark. Even you could compare it to the Opus Shark for a fraction of the price of those two sticks. I mean, this cigar at $16 it's as good as those.
Rooster:The flavor on this also, I was pleasantly surprised, not expecting what I would get from this. It was creamy. It was earthy. There was a little bit of leather. There was a little bit of spice.
Rooster:It was only in the beginning, and that kind of subsided, and the sweetness took over. And that caramelized sugar note that we got, it just completely kind of drew me to that cigar.
Bam Bam:And it took you by surprise.
Rooster:Yeah, definitely. And that note really lasted throughout the cigar. I mean, cigar, a full bodied cigar, but not strength wise. It's got great flavor. It's completely balanced.
Rooster:You can taste the sweetness. Maybe it comes from the cognac barrels that the tobacco is aged in. It's one of the better Fuente cigars that I have had in a very long time. So I'm at a solid 10. I think it's a great cigar, and it would definitely pair great with a non alcoholic Guinness and an espresso.
Senator:All right, Senator. So this is another case where I will fully understand the tens in the room because I lightly went back and forth on this, but I'm at a strong nine. The flavor profile is outstanding. I mean, the richness of flavor, the complexity of notes, you know, usually when you have a cigar this full, it's not particularly complex because you're just blasted with flavor. There's so many notes that we called out throughout this cigar, and I'm glad that this has that and wasn't just dominated by that like brown sugar or even burnt kind of brown sugar note that I remember from the first one I had.
Senator:That was so overpowering. It wasn't balanced. That was so dominant. This was balanced where we got all those other notes throughout the experience. I also like that the cigar takes you on a journey.
Senator:I think it starts drier, but really interesting and complex. It gets nice and sweet midway through in the second third, and then the final third gets drier, but the sweet notes still lingers a bit there, which I think leads to a really pleasant finish. I mean, look at chefs in the in the ashtray. I mean, that's gotta be like half an inch or less. I'm going all the way down to the nub.
Senator:Like, it's so smooth at every single stage of the cigar. So all those things are excellent. They've done a really nice job. The only things that I had to take off a point for my cigar, and I saw most others did not have this issue. I did have to touch up where it was burning unevenly and touch up one side to course correct a number of times throughout.
Senator:The ash holds on really well, but not at the level that the Don Carlos shot. I mean, it's not like none of us were able to take this all the way down without ashing.
Rooster:It's
Senator:not as pretty either. Exactly. Mhmm. Like, to your exact point, like, the ash on a Don Carlos eye of the shark, I mean, it's like a monument. Like, I mean,
Rooster:it's insane.
Gizmo:Honestly, it's the color of a monument. It's like that kind of white Limestone. Limestone marble. Yeah. It's crazy.
Rooster:But it's also compared you know, comparing to a $40 cigar, and this is Yeah.
Senator:But that that's interest gone up. I mean,
Gizmo:when we were
Senator:buying that cigar, it was also like $17.
Chef Ricky:It was the
Senator:same as this. This just hasn't gone up because the demand's not as crazy as for that cigar. So for the construction flaws that existed, I I can't say it was perfect. And the other thing, you know, just for for my palate, this is a cigar that I will absolutely smoke again. I will reach for in certain moments, but I can't say like this is a cigar that I'm gonna put my rotation and smoke every single week.
Senator:Like, it it doesn't grab me in the same way that if the Don Carlos eye of the shark were readily available and $17, I mean, smoke that every week. I to me, that's perfect. This is just below perfect, but that's like such a testament to how great this cigar is that I'm even saying that. So, again, like the spirit, a really strong nine, close to perfect, but not perfect, and so that's why I'm at a nine.
Gizmo:So for me, it's a 10. I mean, I thought about taking off a point for how it looked. It's not a pretty cigar. But man, And what the
Senator:wrapper certainly doesn't smell great.
Gizmo:The wrapper doesn't smell great. But man, what a performance tonight.
Pagoda:Yeah.
Gizmo:I mean, this cigar, I have no complaints. The only time I touched it up, I touched it up one time when I read that really long email. I'm I'm blown away by this cigar. Talk about, you know, judging a book by its cover. You know, we're gonna go through some of the ratings, but a lot of the other Fuente on this podcast has not done well, pretty much except for the Don Carlos eye of the shark that senator just mentioned, which is as close to perfect, I think, as it gets.
Gizmo:But this cigar was brilliant tonight. Really, really surprising full cigar. I mean, it delivers a lot of flavor. It has an oomph to it, but it doesn't beat you over the head with it. And I think that if we want to call it balance, I think, you know, I think that really, really sets this apart.
Gizmo:I do agree with Senator. I don't think I'm going to smoke this a lot. I don't think I'm going to smoke it every week. But this cigar is a really, really excellent addition to the collection that I'll reach for here and there, maybe twice a month or something like that when I want a little more oomph. But I'm not gonna knock it for the fact that I'm not gonna reach for it constantly.
Gizmo:I'm I'm really, really impressed with this. I can't believe it. But for me, it's a 10. Pagoda.
Pagoda:It's a 10 for me, meaning hands down. I think it's the first like, obviously, you know, we all like the Don Carlos or the eye of the shark. But having said that, for $16.
Gizmo:It's crazy. What a value.
Pagoda:This is probably one of the first Arturo for that, like, I want to go and buy a box of, because it's budget friendly, it is flavorful, it's impactful. Really enjoy the flavor from the beginning to the end. I touched it up once.
Rooster:And it's a two hour smoke
Pagoda:almost, It's like, I really do everything about it. It left a really pleasant flavor profile in the front of my palate. It's creamy, nutty. It's got everything, you know, reasonably complex, not very, but reasonably. I think it does take you on a journey.
Pagoda:There were hints of, which I didn't mention, but for me, towards the last third, I felt a little bit of cayenne pepper in it, I don't know.
Senator:And
Pagoda:I just really enjoyed it. I mean, you know, it's also one of those cigars which I think sometimes, like a few times, just naturally retrohale, and I got such a pleasant flavor going through my retrohale, I was like, wow, this
Gizmo:Big retrohale guy.
Pagoda:No, no, I'm not. But you know, like, it happened once in a while for me as well. And this was great, meaning for $16, can't complain. I think I'm gonna get a box of this. It's a 10 for me.
Gizmo:So I just want to say, Ben, before we get to you, we are well over two hours, and oh, it was chef too. But we are well over two hours, and you and Pagoda are still smoking your cigar.
Bam Bam:I just put mine down.
Pagoda:That's crazy. That much. It's an inch.
Gizmo:That's crazy.
Pagoda:When you don't want to drop a cigar and it's still tasting good
Bam Bam:It's amazing.
Pagoda:You can't
Gizmo:feel For this price?
Senator:Yeah. And Pagoda's pants are enjoying it too.
Pagoda:Oh, yeah. By the way, I don't think the ash was that beautiful, right?
Gizmo:It's not a pretty cigar
Pagoda:like It's not a pretty ashy.
Chef Ricky:Yeah, yeah. It's not a pretty ash.
Gizmo:All right, chef.
Chef Ricky:A lot like the rum, I had a hard time with this one because really the only thing I didn't like was what the ash looked like and what the wrapper smelled of. But that had no impact on how the cigar performed, on what it tasted like, and the experience it provided. So for that, I gave it a 10. So ten ten wins for for me here. You know, that cigar listen, it it the eye of the shark kind of fell out of my rotation just it's not the easiest thing to get.
Chef Ricky:It's kind of awesome to have another Fuente that I'd like to add to my tower. Coincidence that they're both sharks, but this is a great Fotola. I love the way the ash holds up. Even in this case where the ash isn't as perfect as maybe the eye of the shark ash, it still held up well. You know, it probably you could probably smoke this thing down to half the halfway point before you have to worry about the ash falling off.
Chef Ricky:But, know, other than that, the caramelized sugar note was fantastic. And, you know, Pagoda, you're right, that cayenne pepper at the end, just like a sweet spice that comes through. It's phenomenal. You know, I had that that little moment in the beginning where I was getting a bit of pepper and spice that wasn't like that sweeter spice like the cayenne at the end. But it wasn't anything, you know, I think for me, I kind of expected, you know, that an issue draw off the light, you're going to get some spice and maybe some unpleasant notes, but it didn't last, it didn't linger, it didn't identify the cigar.
Chef Ricky:So for me, I'm very happy with the 10, I'm very happy with the cigar. It was awesome.
Gizmo:All right, Bam.
Pagoda:Let me clear my throat. Button jiggle gulp up the fucking throat.
Bam Bam:That's what caused it.
Chef Ricky:That looks like the drunk in the corner.
Bam Bam:Now you need to go by
Senator:He's bewildered.
Bam Bam:I gotta relax.
Rooster:It's the meds.
Chef Ricky:This is
Gizmo:a new thing. Was it payback? Payback was coming at some point? I didn't know what it would be, but he found it.
Bam Bam:Don't let jealousy get the best
Pagoda:of you.
Bam Bam:Alright. Oh, boy. Back to the cigar. It's hard to comment after all the incredible criticism tonight. It's all very positive.
Bam Bam:Love
Senator:this Great criticism tonight. It was great. It's very positive. Very positive criticism.
Bam Bam:Excellent news. I found this cigar to be very unique. I think it's different than almost every other cigar that I've had in quite a while. I think for that reason, I would add this to my weekly rotation. I would buy a box.
Gizmo:Interesting.
Bam Bam:Yeah, I would. Because it's so affordable, why not? It's $16, maybe 20.
Gizmo:It's 22, we got it for 16, but really most folks are going to find it for 22. You guys are going find it for 22.
Bam Bam:Yeah, it's fine. I mean, I'd pay that for this and smoke it every week. I think it's the unique delivery of flavor, the combination of flavors. That first third was it was good. The second third and the final third were incredibly delicious.
Bam Bam:And for me, that experience that kind of I got that hybrid between what a Cuban experience is and what a New World experience is. I'm not really finding that in many cigars. I think for that reason, I'm at a 10 and I will be buying boxes of this and having it on a weekly basis.
Rooster:You can only find singles.
Bam Bam:That's fine. I'll buy as many singles as I can find. 10.
Chef Ricky:And buy them through Gizmo so you could get them for $16 Correct.
Gizmo:Shops closed. Alright. Alright, boys. The four wheel listen rating tonight on the Arturo Fuente Anejo Reserva Extra Viejo Limited number 77. The Shark is a 9.8.
Rooster:Wow. It could have been a perfect 10.
Gizmo:Could have
Bam Bam:been I think that's a great score for this.
Gizmo:I think it's a perfect score
Senator:for this. Thank God I'm here.
Bam Bam:Yeah. And look.
Senator:But the difference between I'm bridled enthusiasm in the room.
Pagoda:Well, know it's a great and perfect.
Bam Bam:Yeah. Here's the thing, I can't personally ding a cigar. I touched it up once. The ash was actually quite beautiful on my cigar, and there's a variation of construction that's true. But what you're getting
Chef Ricky:And that's interesting because you had the sunspot. You had the sunspot on
Gizmo:Yes, your remember.
Rooster:Solar eclipse.
Gizmo:I know it's been two hours, but you were talking about the tobacco
Pagoda:It's really apt for today.
Gizmo:Built up.
Bam Bam:Apoquel. Yes,
Gizmo:the sunspot you called it?
Bam Bam:Yeah, don't remember that.
Gizmo:The Wow. Listeners will, was two hours ago.
Bam Bam:The uniqueness of it and the price point of it, I know it's $22 I just think it's a great cigar to have as often as you can.
Gizmo:Yeah. As long as you remember it. Great criticism, Ben. That's correct. So I'm not going to compare that to the other eight Arturo Fuentes we've done.
Gizmo:I'm only going to read score that we've talked about tonight a lot. The Don Carlos Eye of the Shark we reviewed on episode 12, scored a 9.9. One point.
Senator:A bummer. Thought that was a
Bam Bam:I thought that was a 10.
Gizmo:It was not a perfect 10. Do you wanna know who rated it a nine?
Bam Bam:I'm gonna guess it was Grindr. Nope.
Gizmo:Pooba. Nope.
Pagoda:Pagoda. Pagoda.
Gizmo:Yeah. Wow. Everybody, it was a full house.
Bam Bam:Wow.
Rooster:Everybody It gave it makes the dessert notes
Gizmo:on the Except for Pagoda gave it a nine.
Bam Bam:Interesting. Wow.
Gizmo:Boys, what a great night tonight.
Bam Bam:Very good night.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. Very good night. What a pairing.
Bam Bam:Oh, yeah.
Gizmo:Wow. Setting us up nicely for episode 200 Hold
Senator:on, though.
Gizmo:What we
Senator:should compare this to that was helpful, the Don Carlos. Yeah. We also the only other shark I think we've done is the Julius Caesar.
Pagoda:Yeah. I love the Julius Caesar.
Bam Bam:That was great.
Gizmo:I didn't even
Pagoda:think I gave a dent.
Bam Bam:That's a great
Rooster:That's also why I'm here.
Bam Bam:Wow. Very good cigar.
Pagoda:Oh, the difference between great and perfect. El Senador.
Gizmo:Senator, I gotta give it to you. The other one we're gonna compare this to, the JC Newman diamond crowned TAA 2023 Shark scored a nine. Wow. Really? So that, of course, is made by Arturo Fuente.
Gizmo:Good call, Senator. I even think about that cigar.
Bam Bam:I know. It's a good cigar.
Pagoda:That's an excellent cigar.
Chef Ricky:Yeah. Rated a nine. What did Pagoda rate that one?
Gizmo:Nine. Really? Yeah. We all gave it. All seven of us were
Chef Ricky:Makes sense. Was a nine.
Gizmo:Was a flat nine.
Pagoda:No, I really like that cigar.
Gizmo:Yeah, I haven't had it since then. But boys, what a great night tonight. What a great pairing. Of course, we have to congratulate and thank again Lizard Grimm with his great voice memo. Of course, he won lizard of the week sponsored by our friends, Ed Bond Roberts.
Gizmo:Gonna send him a 10 count box of cigars of his choice. And we have to thank all of the other lizards who write in, send voice memos, comment, share the podcast with your friends. All of those contributions are really, really important to us, and we can't do it without you. So please keep them coming. Every single week, you can win.
Gizmo:We have some amazing stuff coming up over the next, call it ten, twelve weeks, getting into the five year episode. So please keep writing. A lot of opportunities to win some cool stuff. So keep it up. And of course, we have to thank Bon Roberts.
Gizmo:Check out Bon Roberts cigars at fabrica005.com. They have a great catalog of cigars over there and there's a new Robusto coming. Of course, you get the Phenomenos, the Dahlia, the one o nines, and the Robusto is coming from them. And boys, we have to thank the preferred retail sponsor of the Lounge Listening Podcast. Thank you, BAM.
Gizmo:Small Batch Cigar. I've been buying so much stuff from Small Batch, of course, for the podcast and personally. Those guys are so good. The shipping is so fast. Use our code, Lizard15 for 15% off your entire order.
Gizmo:Some great stuff coming next week from Small Batch Cigars, so stay tuned for that on episode 250. And of course, boys, Fabrica five, presenting sponsor. They've been with us for so long. They're so amazing. We love their cigars.
Gizmo:Check them out. Fabrica005.com. Use our code lizard pod for 10% off your entire order. Of course, free shipping as well for all orders over a 125. And boys, we are going next week into episode 250.
Gizmo:Wow.
Rooster:You can believe it.
Chef Ricky:That makes us all
Pagoda:old boys.
Gizmo:Crazy.
Bam Bam:Correct.
Senator:We know what that means. Every listener ought to get a saber. Correct. They've got a week's notice.
Gizmo:I'll start working on it.
Bam Bam:I'll use my butter knife.
Gizmo:Alright, boys. A great night, and, we'll see everybody next week. Hope you enjoyed this episode. Thanks for joining us. You can find our merch store and ratings archive at our brand new website, loungelizardspod.com.
Gizmo:That's lounge lizards p o d dot com. Don't forget to leave us a rating and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. If you have any comments, questions, you wanna reach out, say hello, tell us what you're smoking, email us. Hello at lounge lizards pod dot com. You can also find us on Instagram at lounge lizards pod.
Gizmo:We really appreciate your time, and we'll, we'll see you next week.